A commentary on the Bible

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PEAKE S

COMMENTARY
ON THE BIBLE

A

EDITED BY

ARTHUR S. PEAKE, M.A., D.D<

RYLANDS PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL EXEGESIS IN THE UNIVERSITY

OF MANCHESTER ; PROFESSOR IN HARTLEY COLLEGE, MANCHESTER ;

SOMETIME FELLOW OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD

WITH THE ASSISTANCE

FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT

OF

A. ]. GRIEVE, M.A., D.D,

PRINCIPAL OF THE CONGREGATIONAL
HALL, EDINBURGH

LONDON : T. C. & E. C. JACK, LTD,

35 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G.

AND EDINBURGH

1920

: .

i

MAY 1 3 1959*

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

AUTHOR.

ADDIS, the late Rev. William E., M.A., formerly Professor of
Old Testament Criticism in Manchester College, Oxford.

ADENEY, the Rev. Walter F., M.A., D.D., formerly Principal
of Lancashire Independent College, Manchester.

ANDREWS, the Rev. Herbert T., 15. A., D.D., Professor of
New Testament Exegesis in New and Hackney Colleges,
University of London.

BARTLET, the Rev. James Vcrnon, M.A., D.I)., Professor of
Church History in Mansfield College, Oxford.

BEDALE, the late Rev. C. L., M.A., Professor in Didsbury
College, and Special Lecturer in Assyriology in the Univer
sity of Manchester.

BENNETT, the Rev. William Henry, M.A., Litt.D., D.D.,
Principal of Lancashire Independent College, Manchester,
sometime Fellow of St. John s College, Cambridge.

BISSEKER, the Rev. Harry, M.A., Professor in Richmond
College.

BOX, the Rev. George H., M.A., D.I)., Professor of Hebrew
and Old Testament Exegesis in King s College, London ;
Hon. Canou of St. Albans.

BROOK, the Rev. R., M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Morton
College, Oxford.

BROOKE, the Rov. Alan E., D.D., Professor of Divinity in the
University of Cambridge- .11 id Cf non of Ely.

CANNEY, Maurice A., Professor of Semitic Languages and
Literature in the University of -Manchester.

CARPENTER, the Rev. J. Estlin, M.A., D.Liit., formerly
Principal of Manchester College, Oxford.

COOKE, the Rev. George A., M.A., D.D. , Regius Professor of
Hebrew and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford ; sometime
Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.

DA VIES, the Rev. T. Witton, P.. A., Ph.D., D.D.. Professor of
Semitic Languages, University College of North Wales,
Bangor.

DAVISON, the Rev. William T., M.A., D.D., Principal of
Richmond College.

DUFF, the Rev. Archibald, M.A., LL.D., D.D., Professor of
Hebrew and Old Testament Theology in the United College,
Bradford.

vii

SUBJECT.

PSALMS.

PHILIPPIANS.

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE;

DANIEL; 1 and 2 THESSALO-

NIANS; REVELATION.
THE RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND

OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

WRITINGS.
THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY

WITH ISRAEL.

1 and 2 SAMUEL.

THE PASTORAL EPISTLES.
HOSEA.

? PETER ; JUDE.

JOHN.

AMOS.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTA
TEUCH.

THE LANGUAGES OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT.

DEUTERONOMY.

HEBREW WISDOM.
ESTHER ; LAMENTATIONS.

Vlll

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

AUTHOR.
EMMET, the Rev. C. W., M.A., Vicar of West Hendred.

FINDLAY, the Rev. George G., D.D., Professor in New Testa
ment Exegesis and Classics at Hcadingley College.

FOAKES-JACKSON, the Rev. Frederick J., M.A., D.D., Fellow
of Jesus College, Cambridge, liriggs Professor of Christian
Institutions in Union Theological Seminary, New York.

FRANKS, the Rev. Robert S., M.A., B.Litt., Principal of
Western College, Bristol.

GORDON, the Rev. Alexander R., D.Litt., 1).])., Professor of
Hebrew in M Cill University and of Old Testament Litera
ture and Exegesis in the Presbyterian College, Montreal.

GRIEVE, the Rev. Alexander J., M.A., D.D., Principal and
Professor of Systematic Theology in the .Scottish Congrega
tional Theological Hall, Edinburgh.

GWATKIN, the Lite Rev. Henry Melville, M.A., D.I)., Dixie
Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of
Cambridge, Fellow of Emmanuel College.

HARFOBD, thy Rev. George, .M.A., Hon. Canon of Liverpool.
HAVERFIULD, Francis John, M.A., LL.D., D.Litt., F.R.A.,

Cam den Professor of Ancient History in the University of

Oxford.

HOLMES, the Rev. Samuel, ALA., formerly Lecturer in
Theology, Jesus College, Oxford.

HOOKE, the Rev. Samuel Henry, M.A., B.D., Professor of
Oriental Language,-; and Literature in Victor!." C liege,
Toronto.

HUDSON, William Homy, Staff Lecturer in English Literature
to the Extension Board of London Universit v ; formerly Pro
fessor of English Literature, Stanford University, California,
and Professorial Lecturer in the University of California.

HUMPHRIES, the Rev. Albert Lewis, M.A., Professor of New
Testament Greek nnd Exego.d:- and of Systematic Theology
in Hartley Primitive Methodist College, Manchester.

JONES, the Rev. E. Griffith, B.A., D.I)., Principal of the
United College, Bradford.

JORDAN, the Rev. \V. G., D.D., Professor in Queen s Univer
sity, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

JOYCE, the Rev. G. C., D.D., Principal of Si, David s College,
Lampeter.

KENNEDY, tho Rev. Archibald R. S., M.A., D.D., Professor
of Hebrew and Semitic Languages in the University of
Edinburgh.

KENNEDY, the Rev. H. A. A., M.A., D.D., D.Sc., Professor
of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology,
New College, Edinburgh.

KENNETT, the Rev. Robert Hatch, M.A., D.I)., Regius Pro
fessor of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge, Fellov,-
of Queen s College, and Cr.non of Ely.

SUBJECT.

THE APOSTOLIC AGE AND THE
LIFE OF PAUL.

ROMANS.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT; 1 and 2
KINGS.

JOB.

NAHUM; IIABAKKUK ; ZEPHA-
NIAH.

KCCLESIASTES ; MALACHI ; THE
CH 140 NO LOGY OF THE NEW
T E S T A M E N T ; M A T T HEW;
LUKE; THE CATHOLIC EPIS
TLES.

JEWISH HISTORY FROM THE
MACCABEES TO THE DE
STRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.

EXODUS.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE
FIRST CENTURY.

JOSHUA.
PROVERBS.

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE.

1 JOHN ; 2 JOHN ; 3 JOHN.

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND
AIM.

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL ; THE
SONG OF SONGS.

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY.

WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY,
AND TIME.

THE PAULINE THEOLOGY.

HAGGAI ; ZECHARIAH.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

IX

AUTHOR.

LOFTHOUSE, the Rev. William Frederick, M.A., Professor in
Old Testament Language and Literature and in Philosophy
at Handsworth College.

M FAD YEN, the Rev. John Edgar, 1).])., Professor of Old
Testament Language, Literature, and Theology, United
Free Church College, Glasgow.

MACKINTOSH, the Rev. Robert, M.A., D.D., Professor of
Christian Ethics, Apologetics, and Sociology in Lancashire
Independent College, and Lecturer in the University of
Manchester.

M NEILE, the Rev. A. H., D.D., Regius Professor of Divinity
in the University of Dublin, Fellow of Sidney Sussex
College, Cambridge.

MARTIN, the Rev. G. Currie, M.A., B.D., Lecturer in con
nexion with National Council of Adult Schools, late Profes
sor of New Testament Theology and Patristics in the United
College, Bradford, and in Lancashire Independent College.

MASTERMAN, E. W. Gurney, M.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.G.S.,
D.P.H.

MENZIES, the late Rev. Allan, D.D., Professor of Divinity
and Biblical Criticism, St. Mary s College, University of j
St. Andrews.

MOFFATT, the Rev. James, M.A., D. D. , D.Litt., Professor of j
Church History in the United Free Church College, Glasgow.

MONTEFIORE, Claude G., M. A.

MOULTON, the late Rev. James Hope, D.Litt., D.D., D.C.L.,
D.Thcol. , Greenwood Professor of Hellenistic Greek and
Indo-European Philology in the University of Manchester,
New Testament Professor in Didsbury College.

MOULTON, the Rev. Wilfrid J., M.A., B.D., Professor of
Systematic Theology in Headingley College.

MURRAY, George Gilbert Airne, M.A., LL.D., D.Litt., F.B.A.,
Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford.

MURRAY, the Rev. John Owen Farquhar, M.A., D.D., Master
of Selwyn College, Cambridge, sometime Fellow of Em
manuel College, Hon. Canon of Ely.

OESTERLEY, the Rev. W. 0. E., M.A., D.D., Vicar of St.

Alban s, Bedford Park, London.
PEAKE, A. S., M.A., D.D., Rylands Professor of Biblical

Exegesis in the University of Manchester, and Professor in

Hartley Primitive Methodist College, sometime Fellow of

Merton College, Oxford.

SUBJECT.
LEVITICUS.

EZEKIEL.
GALATIANS.

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL.
1 PETER.

THE HOLY LAND.

ACTS.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT LITER AT U RE.

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RE
LIGION.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT; JAMES.

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF
ISRAEL.

PAGAN RELIGION AT THE COM
ING OF CHRISTIANITY.

THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTA
MENT ; THE TEXT AND
TEXTUAL CRITICISM OF THE
NEW TESTAMENT.

1 and 2 CHRONICLES ; EZRA-
NEHEMIAH.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD
TESTAMENT LITERATURE ;
THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT; GENESIS;
THE POETICAL AND WISDOM
LITERATURE ; THE PRO
PHETIC LITERATURE ; ISAIAH
I-XXXIX ; JONAH ; ORGANI
SATION, CHURCH MEETINGS,
DISCIPLINE, SOCIAL AND
ETHICAL PROBLEMS ; THE
PAULINE EPISTLES ; 1 CO
RINTHIANS, GENERAL
BIBLIOGRAPHIES.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

AUTHOR.
RAWLINSON, the Rev. A. E. J., M.A., Student and Tutor of

Christ Churoli, Oxford, late Tutor of Keble College.
ROBINSON, the Rev. II. Whcclcr, M.A., Professor in Rawdon

College.
SCOTT, the Rev. C. Anderson, M.A., LVD,, Professor of tiie

Language, Literature, and Theology of the New Testament

in Westminster College, Cambridge.

SCOTT, the Rev. E. F., D.D., Professor of New Testament
Literature in Queen s University. Kingston, Canada.

SKINNER, the Rev. John, M.A., D.D., Principal of West
minster College, Cambridge.

STRAHAN, the Rev. James, M.A., D.D., Professor of Hebrew
and Biblical Criticism in the Magee Presbyterian College,
Londonderry.

STREETER, the Rev. Burnett H., M.A., Fellow and Lecturer
of Queen s College, Oxford, Canon of Hereford.

WADE, the Rev. George Woosiuig, M.A., D.D., Professor of
Latin and Senior Tutor of St. David s College, Lampeter.

WARDLE, the Rev. William Lansdell, M.A., B.D., Professor
of Hebrew and English in Hartley Primitive Methodist
College, Manchester.

WHITEHOUSE, the late Rev. Owen C., M.A., D.D., Professor
in Cheshunt College, Cambridge.

WOOD, Herbert G., M.A., Warden of Woodbrooke Settlement,
sometime Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.

EPHESIANS ; COLOSSIANS ; PHILE
MON.

JEREMIAH; OBADIAII ; MiCAII.

2 CORINTHIANS.

HEBREWS.

CANON AND TEXT OF THE
TESTAMENT.

JUDGFS; RUTH.

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM.

NUMBERS.

ISAIAH XL-LXVI; JOEL.

THE RELIGIOUS
OF ISRAEL.

LIFE AND

INSTITUTIONS

TEACHING OF

JESUS; MARK.

PREFACE

r I "UIE present work is designed to put before the reader in a simple form, without
-1- technicalities, the generally accepted results of Biblical Criticism, Interpretation,
History, and Theology, it is not intended to be horniletic or devotional, but to convey
with precision, and yet in a popular and interesting way, the meaning of the original
writers, and reconstruct the conditions in which they worked and of which they wrote.
It will thus, while not explicitly devotional or practical, provide that accurate interpretation
of the text through which alone the sound basis for devotional use and practical application
can be laid. It has been the desire of the promoters that it should be abreast of the present
position of scholarship, and yet succeed in making the Scriptures live for its readers with
something of the same significance and power that they possessed for those to whom they
were originally addressed. While it is intended in the first instance for the layman, and
should prove specially helpful to day and Sunday school teachers, to lay preachers, to leaders
of men s societies, brotherhoods, and adult Bible classes, and to Christian workers geneivally,
it should also be of considerable uso to clergymen and ministers, and in particular to
theological students.

The problem of the Editor was to use the space at his disposal to the best advantage.
It was necessary to explain the text, but also to provide a knowledge of the background, to
sketch the social and political conditions, to trace the historical and religious development, to
reconstruct the environment, to arrange the writings in their chronological order. A series of
articles was accordingly planned, so that the exposition of the text might be relieved, but also
that the general information essential to serious study of the Bible should be provided.
Three general articles deal with the nature and significance of Scripture, the literary
characteristics of the Bible, and the Holy Land. The remaining articles are so arranged
that first the languages, the collection of the books into a sacred canon, the restoration of
the text, the historical development of the literature are described. From these we pass to
history, not only of Israel or of the Church, but of the world in which they were placed.
From history \ve proceed to religion and religious institutions, and then to social institu
tions and chronology. Articles arc also prefixed to groups of books. Taken together,
quite apart from the Commentary, the articles form a fairly complete Companion to the
Bible; taken with the Commentary, they provide a, background for the more detailed study
of the text.

The Commentary is based on the text (including, of course, the marginal renderings) of
the Revised Version. The style of exposition naturally varies to some extent with the
type of text to be explained. As .a general principle, contributors were asked to take the
paragraph rather than the verse as tho unit, so that each section might be expounded as

xii PREFACE.

a connected whole rather than treated in a series of detached and snippety notes. But
while the exegesis of details was to be worked into the continuous exposition, it was
recognised that in many instances separate notes would need to be added.

The contributors were, it need hardly be said, left free to express their own views
and treat the sections of the work for which they were responsible in their own way,
within the limits imposed by the general plan of the series. liut the editorial work has
been both heavy and responsible. In addition to the planning of the work, the distribu
tion of space, and the securing of contributors, the articles and commentaries were read
in manuscript and at every stage of the proofs, and in several instances the Editor carried
on a considerable correspondence with the authors on matters that called for reconsidera
tion, or were occasioned by indifference to the limitations of time and space. He has
devoted much time to cross-referencing the volume, and to the preparation of the Index,
which he hopes will add greatly to the usefulness of the work. He has also made
numerous additions to the work of other contributors. This has been due in some measure
to the necessity for co-ordination. In many cases a note would be equally appropriate in
several places, and contributors working independently may not unnaturally assume that
an explanation has been given somewhere in the volume and refrain from repetition. The
Editor has to watch that it is not omitted altogether. Where practicable he has worked
matter of this kind into his own contributions, but in other cases it has been necessary
to insert it elsewhere. Other additions have been designed to put an alternative view
before the reader, which it seemed undesirable to ignore, or to supply interesting informa
tion, or to give help to those whom it is an editor s special duty, as "occupying the place
of the unlearned," to keep constantly in mind. IS o reflection on the contributors is implied
by such additions, since they had to work within narrow limits of space and in ignorance
of each other s contributions. Since it is one of the most necessary features of such a
book that the reader should always know whose work he is reading, all editorial additions,
whether by the Editor himself throughout the volume, or by Dr. Grieve in the New
Testament part of it, are enclosed in square brackets and initialled. Editorial work on
the bibliographies, which has sometimes been extensive in order to secure some uniformity
of scale, has of course not been indicated, nor yet the addition of numerous references.

The apportionment of space has been an anxious matter. It has been determined
partly by the nature of the matter, whether lucid or obscure, compact or dill use ; partly by
the question whether it deals with a text that is but little studied or that is widely read.

On one or two points of detail it may be desirable to say a few words here, referring
the reader for other matters to the explanations and suggestions which follow. In the
Old Testament the order of the books given in the English Bible is retained. In the New
Testament Mark is placed before Matthew, while Colossians and Philemon are taken with
Ephesians. The former rearrangement needs no justification. Study of the Synoptic
Gospels ought to begin with the earliest : the exposition of Matthew should be adjusted to
that of -Mark, rather than, as usually happens, Mark be constantly explained by reference
to the comments on Matthew. By giving Mark the priority in treatment, which accords
with its priority in time and its employment by the other Synoptists, the student is helped
to grasp more firmly the earliest literary presentation of the ministry and personality of

PREFACE. xiii

Jesus now accessible to us, and to watch how this was moulded in the later sources. Nor
does the combination of Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon call for any defence.

The prefix St. (or S.) has been omitted throughout in accordance with the Editor s
strongly expressed wish. On this he may quote from a communication he made to the
contributors : " Where one of the great difficulties with which teachers of the Bible have
to contend is the sense of unreality that invests so much of the Biblical history, the use
of reverential epithets tends to interpose a veil between the modern reader and faces
already too dim. The vivid sense of actual history, the realisation that apostles and
evangelists were men of flesh and blood like our own, which it is a main purpose of the
Commentary to give, is likely to be somewhat blunted by bringing into our interpretation
of the record the attitude of a later age."

In his editorial work on the New Testament section of the volume the Editor has had
the assistance of Dr. Grieve. He, too, has worked through the contributions in manuscript
arid in proof, and done much of the cross-referencing ; he has made many suggestions ;
and cordial thanks are due to him for his skill, his energy, and his loyal co-operation.

The ranks of the contributors have been thinned by death. Professor Driver had
undertaken the commentaries on Micah and Obadiah. That his death should have deprived
the volume of these contributions, and of the distinction his inclusion in the list of writers
would have conferred, is to be deeply regretted ; but it would be ungracious to dwell on
our special loss, when we remember in how many ways his all-too-early departure has
impoverished us. Professor Wheeler Robinson has kindly supplied the commentaries
Dr. Driver was unable to write. We have also lost Dr. Whitehouse, Mr. Addis, Professor
J. H. Moulton, Professor Gwatkin, Professor Menzies, and Professor Betlale a grievous loss
to scholarship in every case. Each had sent in his contribution and seen proofs. The
Editor s thanks are due to Miss Lilian Whitehouse for the great pains she spent on her
father s proofs, arid to Rev. William Edie for the similar service he rendered to those of
Di. Menzies. Professor Bedale s proofs had been finally passed for press before his death ;
for the rest the Editor assumed responsibility. He har, also to thank his dear friend and
colleague, Professor W. L. Wardle, for generously reading the proofs of all his contribu
tions, for chocking a specially difficult set of references in a commentary by another
writer, and for help in checking the Index. Nor can he forget the constant interest and
cordial co-operation of the publishers during this period of unprecedented stress. Above
all, his gratitude is due to his secretary and friend, Miss Elsie Cann, who has laboured
with unfailing devotion to bring the enterprise to a successful issue. It is a pleasure to
acknowledge the service she has so freely and fully rendered during more than fourteen
years of happy and harmonious co-operation, and especially through the trying ami exact
ing labours of the past six years, during which, next to his professional duties, the
preparation of this work has been his main occupation.

It was hoped when the task was undertaken in 1913 that the volume would be ready
for publication in 1917. The Editor s work was hampered first by the severe and prolonged
illness of his secretary in 1914 and later, and then by his own breakdown, which came
near to proving irreparable, in 1915. As the war v/ent on, the difficulties of printing
were greatly aggravated ; and this inevitably postponed the preparation and checking of

xiv PREFACE.

tho Index, which has proved a colossal task. No one regrets the delay in publication
more than the publishers and the Editor, but it has been unavoidable. In several cases
it has been impossible for contributors to take account of recently published literature,
since their commentaries or articles had already been set up in page; but mention of it
has frequently been inserted in the bibliographies. It is most regrettable that so notable
a work as Sir James Frazer s Folk-Lore in the Old Testament did not appear till the
whole volume had been long passed for press. In taking leave of the task which has so
long absorbed his attention, tin-. Editor thanks all the contributors, to whose share in it its
reputation and usefulness will be so largely due, for the invariable and generous kindness
with which they have treated him, and trusts that in the amplest measure their common
aim will be attained.
MAY 1919.

TABLE OF CONTENTS,

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE ....

THE HOLY LAND ......

THE LANGUAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
CANON AND TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE
THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL .
THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL ....

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL ....

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL
THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL .
WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY, AND TIME
THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT .
INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH
GENESIS .......

EXODUS .....

LEVITICUS . ....

NUMBERS ........

DEUTIttlONOMY ......

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

JOSHUA

JUDGES .

RUTH

1 AND 2 SAMUEL ...
1 AND 2 KINGS ....

1 AND 2 CHRONICLES ...

EZRA-NEHEMIAH

ESTHER. .....

THK POETICAL AND WISDOM LITERATURE

HEBREW WISDOM

JOB ....

PSALMS .....

PROVERBS . .

ECCLKSIASTES

THE SONG OF SONGS

THE PROPHETIC LITERATURE .

PAOE

E. GRIFFITH JONES . 1

W. H. HUDSON . .18

E. W. G. MASTER MAN . 26
G. A. COOKE. . . 31
J. SKINNER . . . 37
THE EDITOR . . 4-4
C. L. BED ALE . . 50
A. H. M NEILE . . 63
W. G. JORDAN . .81
O. C. WHITEHOUSE . 98
W. J. MOULTON . .108
A. It. S. KENNEDY. . 115
THE EDITOR . .110
J. E. CARPENTER . . 121
THE EDITOR . .133
G. HARFOIu) . . 168
W. F. LOFTHOUSE . .196
G. W. WADE . . 213
T. WITTON DA VIES . 231

F. J. FOAKES-JACKSON . 244
S. HOLMES . . .248
J. STRAKAN . . .256
J. STRAHAN. . .271
W. H. BENNETT . . 273
F. J. FOAKES-JACKSON . 294
W. O. E. OESTERLEY . 314
W. 0. E. OESTERLEY . 323
A. DUFF . . . 336
THE EDITOR . . 341
W. T. DAVISON . . 343
R. S. FRANKS . . 346
W. E. ADDIS . . 366
S. H. HOOKE . . 397
A. J. GRIEVE . .411
W. G. JORDAN . .418
THE EDITOR 424

xv i TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY ... . G. C. JOYCE . . . 426

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE ... . H. T. ANDREWS . . 431

ISAIAH I-XXXIX THE EDITOR . 436

ISAIAH XL-LXVI W. L. WARDLE . . JGO

Tivi vMMTi H. WHEELER ROBINSON 474

JltiivllilVIlAiJ. ....

A - DUFF 4%

LAMENTATIONS

EZEK1EL . . . ^ E. M FADYKtf . . 501

DANIEL H.T.ANDREWS . . 522

I10SEA .... G. H. BOX . . 534

jOHL .... W. L. WARDLE . . 544

AMOS M. A. CANNEY . . 547

OP^DIAH H - WHEELER ROBINSON 555

JONAH . . . . . THE EDITOR . . 556

MICAH H. WHEELER ROBINSON 559

NAIiUM A. R. GORDON . 504

HABAKKUK A. R. GORDON . 506

ZEPHANIAH A. R. GORDON . . 569

HAGGAI

R, H. KENNETT . . 572

ZECHARIAH .... . . P, H. KENNETT . 575

MALACHI . . A. J. GRIEVE . . 585

THE LANGUAGE OE THE NEW TESTAMENT . J. II. MOULTON . 591

Til!-: CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT . . . J. 0. F. MURRAY . . 594

THE TEXT AND TEXTUAL CRITICISM OF THE NEW

TESTAMENT .... . J. 0. F. MURRAY . 598

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT LITERA-

T[JRE . . . . . J. MOFFATT . . .602

JEWISH HISTORY FROM THE MACCABEES TO THE

DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM . . H. M. GWATKIN . . 607
THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE FIRST CENTURY . . F. J. HAVERFIELD . . 612
CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RELIGION . . . C. G. MONTEFIORE . .618
PAGAN RELIGION AT THE COMING OF CHRISTIANITY G. G. A. MURRAY . . 627
THE RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF THE NEW TESTA
MENT WRITINGS . J- V. BARTLET . 636
ORGANISATION, CHURCH MEETINGS, DISCIPLINE, SOCIAL

AND ETHICAL PROBLEMS. THE EDITOR . 045

THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT . A. J. GRIEVE

THE LIFE AND TEACHING OF JESUS . H. G. WOOD .

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM. . B. H. STREETER .

MARK . ... H. G. WOOD .

MATTHEW . A. J. GRIEVE . 700

LUKE A. J. GRIEVE . . 724

JOHN A. E. BROOKE . . 743

THE APOSTOLIC AGE AND THE LIFE OF PAUL . . C. W. EMMET . 766

ACTS . . . .A. MENZIES . .776

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

THE PAULINE THEOLOGY
THE PAULINE EPISTLES .
ROMANS

1 CORINTHIANS ....

2 CORINTHIANS ....
GALATIANS .....
EPHESIANS, COLOSSIANS, AND PHILEMON
PHILIPPIANS .....

1 AND 2 THESSALONIANS .

THE PASTORAL EPISTLES.

HEBREWS .....

THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES .

JAMES

1 PETER .....

2 PETER

1 JOHN

2 JOHN ......

3 JOHN

JUDE

REVELATION ....
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES

H. A. A. KENNEDY.

THE EDITOR

G. G. FINDLAY

THE EDITOR

C. A. SCOTT .

R. MACKINTOSH

A. E. J. RAWLINSON

W. F. ADENEY

H. T. ANDREWS

H. BISSEKER

E. F. SCOTT .

A. J. GRIEVE

J. H. MOULTON

G. CURRIE MARTIN

R. BROOK

A. L. HUMPHRIES .

A. L. HUMPHRIES .

A. L. HUMPHRIES .

R. BROOK

H. T. ANDREWS

THE EDITOR

ABBREVIATIONS
INDEX .

MAPS

xv 11

PAGE

. 805

. 814

. 817

. 832

. 849
. : 637

. 862

. 872

. 876

. 881

. 889

. 901

. 903

. 908

. 913

. 916

. 921
922

. 923

. 926

. 945

XX

947

at. end

EXPLANATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

TT is assumed that those who study tins volume will use with it the Revised Version.
JL Care should be taken to secure an edition in which the marginal renderings are
included, since those are frequently to be preferred and constant reference is made to
them in the Commentary. The Revised Version has been chosen since, whatever its
merits or defects in other respects may be, it is undeniably much more accurate in the
main than the Authorised Version., and therefore much better fitted for the student s

purpose.

The work presupposes the modern critical view of the Bible. Those who are un
familiar with it are recommended to read the first article in the volume for a summary
statement of it. Other articles furnish more detailed information on special branches of

the subject.

Those who wish to make a thorough study of the volume would do well to work
through the articles prefixed to the; Old Testament portion before taking up the Old
Testament commentaries, and similarly with the New Testament. They would thus gain
that knowledge of background and atmosphere which would give far fuller meaning to the
study of tin; different books. And those who are working on particular books would find
it helpful to read the articles or sections of aiiicles relevant to them,

In accordance with the principle that the paragraph rather than the verse is the unit
of exposition, the explanation of an individual verse must in many eases be sought in the
exposition of the paragraph in which it occurs, not in the detached notes that follow,
though further information or discussion may be found in these. Owing to the great
difficulties which the text often presents, and the limitations of space, it lias been im
possible to explain everything; in these cases larger works must be consulted. But
great labour has been spent on the cross-referencing, and students are earnestly recom
mended to avail themselves of the further information to which they are thus directed.
Reference is given either to the page or else to the boo):, chapter, and verse in the note
on which the information is to be found. In the latter case an asterisk follows the
chapter and verse reference: thus Jer. 82* means, "See the note on the second verse of
the eighth chapter of Jeremiah." The usual notation for chapter and verse is, as will be
seen from this example, a large Arabic numeral for the chapter, a small Arabic numeral
for the verse. AVlum clarendon type is used the notation is large Roman numerals for
the chapter, large Arabic numerals for the verse (ViH. 2). In the references printed at
the top of the page, that on the left-hand page indicates the point at which the page
begins, that on the right-hand page the point where it ends.

EXPLANATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. xix

To save space numerous abbreviations have been employed. A list (he.se, v/ith
explanations, is given on page xx.

Immense labour has been spent on the Index, in the hope Hint students will be able-,
not merely to turn up references quickly, but to collect the information on any particular
subject which is scattered through the volume. The greatest pains have been taken by
the Editor and his secretary, with the help of Professor Wardle, to secure accuracy by
checking of the references in detail; but in such a multitude of figures they fear that
come errors may have escaped detection.

Much attention has also been devoted to the preparation of the bibliographies. These
include foreign as well as English books, since the needs of theological students have been
kept in mind, and it is hoped that their teachers may find the lists convenient for refer
ence in lectures. In the case of the commentaries, the bibliographies are classified as
follows : (a) Commentaries in English on the English text ; (b) Commentaries in English
on the original text ; (c) Foreign commentaries (where these have been translated & into
English an asterisk has been prefixed to the author s name) ; (d) Expository or devotional
works. Editions are indicated by the addition of a small Arabic numeral at the right-
hand top corner: thus Robertson Smith, RS H , means the second edition of Robertson
Smith s Rdiylon of the Semites. Clarendon type means that a book is specially
recommended.

No rigid uniformity h*w been enforced in the spelling of proper names, since the
Editor felt it desirable to leave contributors as free as possible in this matter. Thus side
by side with the more correct form Nebuchadrezzar, the more popular form Nebuchadnezzar
has been retained, as in the Revised Version. The same principle has been observed in
transliteration from Hebrew.

ABBREVIATIONS

The Books of the Bible are referred t; as fallows :

Old Testament. dun., Ex.. Lev., Nu., Dl , Jos., Jg., Ru., 1
Ezr., Neb., Est., Job, Ps., Pr., EC., Ca. ( Is., Jer., Lain., K/,ek.,
Nali., Hab., Zeph., Hag., Zoch., Mai.

Apocrypha. I Esd., 2 Esd., Tob., Judith, Ad. Est., Wisd
Children, Sus., Bel, Man., 1 Mae., 2 Mac.

A r fi> rc.stow./rt. Mt., Mk., Lk.. Jn., Ac., Rom., 1 Cor., 2
2 Th., 1 Tim., 2 Tun., Tit., Phm., Hob,, J;is., 1 P., 2 P., 1 Jn., 2 Jn

ad loc . . on the passage.

ANF . . Ante Nicene Fa . iers.

Aram. . . Aramaic.

Assy. . . Assyrian.

AV . . Authorised Version.

Bab. . . Babylonian.

BDB . . Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew Lexi
con.

c. . . about.

OB . . The Cambridge B title.
Coi t.B. The Century Bible.

cf. . . compare.

COT . . Cambridge Greek Testament.

ch. . . chapter.

CH . Code of Hammurabi.

CQR . Church Quarterly Review.

DAC . . Dictionary of the, Apostolic Church.

1)B . . Dictionary of the Bible.

DOG . . Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels.

EB . . Encyclopedia Britannica.

EBi . . Encyclopedia BiUica.
e.g. . . for example.

EOT . . Expositor s Greek Testament.
ERE Encyclopedia of Hdiijion and Lthi-s.
ET The Expository Times.
E.tr, . . English translation.
Eus. . Eusebius of Cajsarea.
EV . . English Version.
Ex.B . . Expositor s Bible.
Exp. . . The Expositor.
f. . . And following verse, chapter, or page.

Or.

HO .
HDB .
Heb. .
Hex. .
HK .
HNT
HSDB

ICC

TH

INT

Inter.

IOT

JTh.S

KEH

KHG

KHS

lit.

LXX.

Mey.

ma.

MT

NT

NTT

OT

OTJC

OTT

S., 2 S., 1 K., 2 K., I Ch., 2 Ch.,
Dan., Hos., Jl., Am., Ob., Jon., Mi.,

., Ecclus., Bar., Song of the Three

Cor., Gal., Eph., Phil., Col., 1 Th.,
. , 3 Jn., Jude, Rev.

And following verses, chapters, or pp.

Greek.

Iland-commenlar ziim N.T.

Hastings Dictionary of the Bible,

Hebrew.

Hexateueh.

Ilandkommentar zum A.T.

Lietxmaijn, Ilandbiich zum N.T.

Hastings One Volume Dictionary of

the Bible.

International Critical Commentary.
International Handbooks to the N.T.
Introduction to the New Testament.
The Interpreter.

. Introduction to the Old Testament.
Journal of Theological Studies.
Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch.
Kurzes Handcommentar.
Kurzgefasster Kommen>ar zu den
heUti/en Schriflen Alten und Neuen
Testamentes.
literal, literally.
The Septuagint.

Meyer, Kommentar iiber das N. T.
margin.

Massoretic Text.
. New Testament.
. New Testament Theology.

Old Testament.

. The 0. T. in the Jewish Church.
. Old Testament Theology.

ABBREVIATIONS.

PC . . Pulpit Commentary.

p., pp. . page, pages.

PSBA . . Proceedings of the Society of Biblical
Archceoloyy.

I .. . . Redactor or editor.

US . . The Religion of the Semites.

RTF . . Review of Theology and Philosophy.

RV . . Revised Version.

RVm . . Revised Version margin.

Sam. . . Samaritan.

SAT . . Die Schriften des Alien Testaments.

SBOT (Eng, ) The. Sacred Books of the Old Testament,
English Translation (The Poly
chrome Bible).

SBOT (Heb. ) The Sacred Books of the Old Testament
(Hebrew Text).

SDB .

SNT .
Sp. .
Syr. .
TR
v., co.,

vss .

Vulg. .
Wcst.C
WH .

Vv NT .
ZK

ZNTW

xxi

Smith s Dictionary of the Bible.

J. Weiss, Die Schriften des N.T,

Speaker s Commentary.

Syriac Version.

Textns Receptus.

verse, verses.

Versions.

Vulgate.

Westminster Commentaries.

Westcott and Hort, The New Testa,
meat in, Greek.

Westminster New Testament.

Zahn, Commentar znm Ne aen Testa
ment.

Zeitschrift ffir die neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft.

The usual symbols for documents, J, E, JE, D, P, H, in the Hexateuch, Q in the Synoptists, are
employed. See for an explanation of these the articles on The Pentateuch and The Synoptic Problem.

Divisions of vcvses are indicated by the addition to the number of a and b. Thus i6b means the
second half of verse 16. Occasionally c and d may also be used.

Page and
Column.

Line.
i.

2906 52-54

CORRIGENDA.

For "will be due to confusion with Abigail, wife of Nahash, and
perhaps also," substitute "may perhaps be partly due."

5236 4o For "the man and the he-goat," substitute "the ram and the

lie-goat."

The following corrections should also be made : 3066, "5" for "5 " in last line
but one from bottom; 352a, line 1, "man s life"; 383f, in page headings, "Psalms
LXI. 26 "; 509a, line 23, Ex. B; 524a, line 13, Onias III. ; 677a, transpose "Concern
ing Offences " and " Lost Sheep " under both Luke s Order and Matthew s Order.

COMMENTARY
ON THE BIBLE

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

BY PRINCIPAL E. GRIFFITH-JONES

" If thou art merry, here are airs.
If melancholy, here are prayers ;
If studious, here are those tilings writ
Which may deserve thy ablest wit ;
]f hungry, here is food divine ;
If thirsty, nectar, heavenly wine.

Bead then, but first thyself prepare
To read with zeal and mark with care ;
And when thou read st what here a writ.
Let thy best practice second it ;
So twice each precept writ should DO,
First in the Book, and then iu thee.

IF Carlyle s dictum bo true, that " of all things which
men do make here below, by far the most momentous,
wonderful, and worthy are the things called books,
we may say with confidence that the greatest of
human achievements is the Bible, which, in virtue of
its pre-eminence, has come to be called the Book. _ It
was written thousands of years ago by men belonging
to an alien land and civilisation, many of them anony
mous, and none of them scholars in the modern sense
of the term ; yet is its message still vital, its words
full of glow and power. There was no collusion be
tween its writers, whose lives stretch over a period
of a thousand years, but there is a unity of purpose
running through its multifarious contents winch no
reverent reader fails to grasp. It is a compendium of
the literature of a little people, obscure in origin,
limited in outlook, often questionable in morals, but
charged with a mission and message for humanity at
large whose significance has deepened with the lapse
of a^es, and whose influence is still the profoundest
and most far-reaching in the whole world,
circulated more widely, read more eagerly to-day than
ever and it is no exaggeration to say that the ulti
mate destiny of the race will be vitally affected by
its attitude to the Bible in the ages to come. Without
affirming for a moment that this Book makes other
books superfluous, we can say that this is the Book
which could be least spared of all that have challenged
the intellect, subdued the heart, and inspired the will
of mankind to high thinking and noble doing It is
the vade mecum of pilgrim man on his journey through
time into eternity. Therefore it is a book to be read,
marked, learned, and inwardly digested by all who
desire to live a true life, and who are lovers of then-
kind.

What is the source of this unique influence ? The
secret is manifold, but there is one all-controlling
characteristic that may be put into a sentence. Im
plicitly or explicitly it always and everywhere deals
with the soul of man in its relations with the Living
God. It registers on the one side the progressive
outreach of the soul in the various stages and moods
of its search for God ; and on the other, it unfolds
the gradual self-manifestation of God in His revealing

and redeeming power on behalf of Man. The Bible
is a record of the process by which formless matter,
energised and vitalised, became the organism of the
redeemed soul, filled with all the fullness of Christ.
If any man desires to know his own heart in all its
possibilities of glory and shame, if he desires to know
God in all the grandeur of His nature and the far-
reaching grasp of His love, let him read and master
this book. And if he will then bring together into
the unity of his own life what he here learns of
himself, and what he learns of God, it will make
him " wise unto salvation."

Let us consider in a little more detail this twofold
aspect of the Bible. It revecils man to himself as a
seeker after God. We have in this book a wonderful
variety of literature myth and legend, history and
fiction, poetry and drama, idyll and allegory, record
and prophecy, its gallery of portraits comprises king
and beggar, wise man and fool, rich and poor, saint
and villain, oppressor and slave, hero and wastrel,
dreamer and doer, each revealing (sometimes in a
single phrase) his distinctive quality, and unfolding
his destiny according to his kind. The philosopher is
here, wrestling with the dark problems of existence,
sometimes lost in perplexity, sometimes radiant with
vision ; the poet is here, weaving into sentences of
simple but matchless beauty the longings, discoveries,
aspirations of the soul as he grasps the " flying ves
ture " of God ; the prophet is here, gazing at the
passing glory of the Most High, or brooding in sorrow
over the pathos of man s blindness and sin ; the
historian is here, unfolding the significance of past
events, and pointing the moral of the achievements
or failures of older times for his own day. We have
pictures of family life in its homely relations the
birth of little children, the love of youth and maiden,
the sorrows and joys of married life, the tragedy of
broken hearts, the happiness of renewed relations, the
sadness of the inevitable end. Often too we come on
the shock of battle, the agony of defeat, the shout of
victory, and we see empires pass in pomp or shame
across the stage, now rising into power, now fading
into nothingness. There is no typical experience of
human life that is not somewhere mirrored in these
living pages ; virtues and vices are chronicled with
firm, impartial touch ; the sweetness of life, and its
unutterable bitterness, find their full expression.

Studying the Bible is thus only another way of
studying life itself, and always in its spiritual relations.
This crowded assemblage of figures, when their varied
impressions are blended into one composite picture,
reveal the human soul in its littleness and grandeur,
its sin and saintliness, its depths of shame, its heights
of possibility. He must be a dull reader who, having
mastered the Bible, fails to see himself somewhere in
it as he is, and as he ought to be.

This, however, is but the lesser half of the message

1

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

of the Bible. Its central figure is not man, but God.
Open it where we will, we always find ourselves in
the Holy Presence. It is the .story of an unfolding
vision, of a gradually completed movement of the
Divine self-manifestation. The structure of the Bible
as it has come down to us masks the gradual character
of that process. The most primitive portions of its
literature are embedded in a mass of later editorial
matter, and the true chronological order of its parts
has only comparatively recently been disentangled
from a bewildering multiplicity of documents. It has
taken over a century of laborious research on the part
of an army of devoted scholars to recover the his
torical perspective of this revelation, but the task is
now almost complete. This discovery has thrown a
wonderful light on the slow but steady method by
which God manifested His character in the events of
Hebrew history, and through its outstanding per
sonalities. The later editors may have used the annals
of their race uncritically, and here and there may have
mistaken legend for history, and myth for fact ; but
what is evident at each step is that their one interest
was to review the past story of the world in the light
of God s providential sovereignty in nature, and of
His redeeming grace in His dealings with mankind,
and more especially with His " chosen people." We
do not go to the .Bible for science, for in science we
deal Avith secondary causes only, and here thesn have
no place; and wo do not go to it for history in the
ordinary sense of the word, since history deals with
events in their purely human aspects. Nature in the
Bible is always viewed as God s handiwork, the fruit
of His immediate creative power, Mie scene of His
personal activity, the means whereby He brings His
providential ends to pass. Man is His child, the
object of His peculiar care, to whom He has entrusted
a special function of lordship over the world, and
from whom He has great expectations. But man has
sinned and gone astray from his true path. Even
with the chosen race He has again and arain
disappointed ; nevertheless, He has used it as His
special channel for the revelation of His nature, for
the progressive unfolding of His redemptive purpose ;
even its failures and sins have but furnished Him
with fresh opportunities for the manifestation of His
power and grace. It is characteristic of the ( )T writers
that they never fail to use the dark background of
human depravity to throw up the ever-brightening
picture of the Divine perfections, and especially to
illustrate God s unfailing faithfulness. When wc-tross
the threshold of the XT, w-e are in a different environ
ment, and are planted more securely on the authentic
rock of history ; but the same commanding interest
is still with us. We are ever dealing with the redeem
ing God ; but " all the light of sacred story " is here
concentrated in a single Personality, in whom dwells
the " fullness of the Godhead bodily," and from whom
the old redeeming energies now radiate out to all the
world. First we have four vivid -portraits of Jesus
Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, in which the very
aroma of His personal presence still lingers. We catch
a glimpse of Him in His gentle youth, silently preparing
for His great mission ; we see Him in the fullness of
His manhood entering on His public vocation as
Prophet, Healer, Wonder-worker ; we watch Him
teaching His heavenly ethic, preaching the gospel of
the Kingdom, training the Twelve, healing the sick,
helping the poor, opening the door of hope to the
outcast and the lost ; the lights and shadows of the
picture grow more vivid as His life moves to its
inevitable and tragic climax ; we stand beside the

Cross and hear His bitter cry as He gives up the
ghost; we share in the glory of the resurrection
morning. Then we witness the descent of the Spirit
at Pentecost ; the birth of the Christian Church ; the
rapid spread of the Gospel message in far-scattered
communities throughout the Roman Empire. Finally
in a collection of apostolic letters, the cosmic signifi
cance of the Incarnation is unfolded, and the sure
triumph of God s redemptive purpose is foreshadowed.
So the agelong process is complete, and the Gospel of
the grace of God is launched on its historic career.

II

These are the fundamental aspects of the Bible,

stated broadly and without qualification. It brings

man near to God ; it brings God home to man. And

it does whatever theory we may have of its origin,

its nature, its method of appeal.

The Bible, however, needs to be understood in all
these directions if it is to do its perfect work with us.
And it is not an easy book to understand. If its
appeal to the heart is simple, its challenge to the
intellect is complex. From whatever side we approach
it, we are met by bristling problems. How to under
stand tJie Bible has been a perennial question for
devout minds. Probably more earnest study has been
given to this matter, and more intellectual effort has
been expended upon it, than on any other that has
ever been presented to the attention of civilised man.
The history of Biblical interpretation is in a very real
sense the history of the human mind itself since the
Bible was written. And to-day we are passing through
a profound revolution in our attitude towards this
wonderful Book. Modern scholarship has attacked its
problems from a fresh standpoint, has discovered new
facts as to its origin, its composition, its authorship,
its gradual growth from the first nucleus to the com
pleted volume, and has set its contents in a new
perspective. The Bible of the twentieth century is a
new book, needing a new treatment, and a new attitude
of mind in order rightly to value its message.

If we would understand how all this has como
about, we must link it with a profound change in
man s conception of the universe. The birth of what
is called the " modem mind " is really the birth of
a new method of approaching reality. In ancient and
medieval times, the method of inquiry was a priori.
By this is meant that men endeavoured to harmonise
facts with certain preconceived categories of thought,
which ruled them with unconscious but rigorous
tyranny, and with which all fresh knowledge must
somehow be made to harmonise. Facts which refused
to bend to this process were either rejected or else
forced somehow into the general scheme of thought.
This was true of philosophy and science, and pre
eminently of theology. Those who ventured to ques
tion current assumptions, and to formulate fresh
schemes more in harmony with newly-discovered facts,
were hardly dealt with, and if they persisted, were
treated as heretics and outcasts, and were imprisoned,
tortured, even slain without pity. Gradually, how
ever, this rigorous uniformity of belief in all realms
of knowledge broke down under the obstinate and
ever-increasing pressure of a new method of inquiry
the a posteriori. By this is meant the rejection of
preconceived ideas, and the study of facts in and for
themselves as a preliminary to formulating their laws
to deduce theories from an examination of facts, and
not bend facts to suit accepted theories. This is a
simple thing to say ; but it involved nothing less than

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

a fundamental change in every department of thought.
In the first place, it put the inquirer into a now re
lation to reality ; it made him Nature s pupil, not her
master ; it changed prejudice into teachableness, and
opened a new and fascinating vista of inquiry in every
direction. In the second place, man began to under
stand the world better, and his control over the forces
and processes of Nature began to extend in a magical
way. The method, in a word, was justified by its
results, and to-day no sound thinker doubts that the
pathway to truth and power lies in this direction.
Consequently the method has been applied al! round,
and modern science stands forth as a monument of
the enterprise, receptivity, and patience of the human
mind. No theorising till we have the facts to theorise
about ; and as fresh facts pour into view, a rigorous
re-examination and rebuilding of existing theories in
the light of these facts such is the modem way of
thinking. It has c countered many difficulties and
pitfalls ; it has often been led into blind alleys and
has had to retrace its steps ; it is constantly revising
its conclusions, and making fresh ventures, which do
not always prove fruitful ; but the principle has now
become axiomatic, ar the only legitimate and sure
method of extending the bounds of knowledge. Modern
Biblical Science is the result of applying this instru
ment of inquiry to the facts of the Bible. It is based
on the a posteriori as distinguished from the old a priori
method of dealing with it. In no department of
thought has the new aethod had to fight so hard for
foothold ; in none has the old been so obstinately
defended ; in none have the issues been so momentous,
or the victory more complete.

We must not bo haul on the tenacity and even
obstinacy of those who felt themselves called upon to
fight against the modern view of the Bible. If their
judgment was at fault, their motives w~ro of the highest,
Religion is the most precious possession of man ; it
finds him in the elemental, changeless region of his
being ; and anything that endangers its interests
must at all costs be resisted and overcome. Now, just
because religion appeals to the permanent elements in
man s nature, it is difficult to avoid identifying it
with the special forms in which it is embodied. Conse
quently, when we are called to give up any of our
religious conceptions, we are prone to believe that
religion itself is in danger. Thus, however open-minded
and liberal we may be in other matters, we are all
apt to become conservatives in religion. A creed,
once formulated, tends to become fossilised, and to
entrench itself behind a rampart of sacred affections
and time-honoured traditions. Progress in religious
thought is slow and painful. It is no wonder that this
has been specially the case with men s thoughts about
the Bible the most precious volume in the religious
literature of the race. But, if the progress of Biblical
Science has been slow, it has been inevitable. The
very love of truth which the Bible has been the chief
means of propagating, has made it impossible to hold
back the movement ; once fairly begun, it could not
but come to its own at last.

Ill

Let us consider in the first place the change that
has become necessary in our ideas of the inspiration
of the Bible, of the revelation contained in it, and of
its supreme authority.

1. For many centuries, almost indeed from the most
primitive times, the Bible was held by nearly all
Christian thinkers to be inspired in form as well as in

substance. This idea was inherited from tho Rabbis,
who held a similar theory concerning the Old Testa
ment. There seems to be a tendency in all religions
possessing a sacred literature to ascribe the origin of
that literature to inspiration, i.e.. to the " inbreathing "
or influence of the Divine Spirit. The Vedas, the
teachings of Zoroaster and of some Buddhists, tho
Koran, arc all believed by their votaries to have pro
ceeded from a Divine source. The Brahmins even
believe that the Vcdas existed from all eternity. There
must be some inherent reason for ideas so widespread.
It has been suggested (doubtless with some truth)
that they are the result of u priori theories as to what
a Divinely-inspired book must have been. We prefer
to believe that the reason is fundamentally religious
rather than intellectual, and to find in all theories of
inspiration an instinctive tribute to the quality of the
writings themselves. It was felt that what proved to
be so inspiring must have been Divinely inspired. To
what extent, and in what way, would be formulated
later by reilection. The slow and tentative manner
in which the Canon of both the OT and the NT was
formed favours this view. As regards our Bible, at
any rate (whatever be the case with other sacred books),
the various parts found their way into recognition by
a process of selection and exclusion which took cen
turies to complete a fact which suggests a law of
survival very similar to that discovered by Darwin in
the organic world. No infallible test was applicable,
but those writings were finally included -which were
found in experience to bear the authentic marks of
inspiration. (See pp. 39f.)

It is not the fact of inspiration, however, that is in
dispute, but its character and mctlto l. How far, for
instance, are we to attribute inspiration to the form
as well as the substance of Scripture ? Christian
thinkers have not been agreed on this point. Some
have boldly affirmed the li mechanical " or " dicta
tion " theory of verbal inspiration, which means that
every word in the Bible represents the mind of God
as perfectly as though He had written it Himself, ^the
actual author being not so much the " pen-man " as
the " pen " of the Holy Spirit. This idea is really
self-contradictory, for there can be no question of
inspiration if the writer is the mere mechanical instru
ment of Divinity. It is also quite incompatible with
the facts presented by the Bible itself. The various
books, and many portions of certain books, are written
in a style so varied and characteristic as to suggest
irresistibly the personal idiosyncrasies of different
writers. No one, e.g., can fail to recognise the very
different style of Chronicles from that of Kings, or
to distinguish the peculiar note of Jeremiah from that
of Arnos. Scholars have been able to detect four
main currents of writing in the Pentateuch, and the
hands of several editors or redactors. Further, in no
part of Scripture is this claim to verbal inspiration
made. " The authors, instead of being passive re
cipients of information and ideas and feelings, represent
themselves as active, deliberating, laborious, intensely
interested." In many cases they base their own
version of events on previous (now lost) writings.
Luke claims to have made a careful and critical use
of his sources, very much after tho manner of the
scientific historians of to-day. As has been aptly
pointed out, " When St. Paul in 2 Cor. 11 17 says,
That which I speak I speak not after the Lord, but
as in foolishness, in the confidence of boasting, it is
intelligible to say that an inspired man is speaking^;
it is not intelligible to say that it is God speaking."
This theory again is incompatible with the way in

4

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

which the NT writers quote from the OT. Out of
275 quotations it has been found that there are only
53 in which the Hebrew, the Septuagint (or Greek
version of the OT) and the NT writers verbally agree ;
there are 99 in which the NT quotation differs from
both (which also differ from one another), and 7(5 in
which the correct Septuagint rendering has been
wrongly altered. This is quite incompatible with the
position that all the words of .Scripture are equally
inspired; for can we believe that the Holy Spirit
would misquote Himself ? But there is a more con
clusive argument still against such a theory; for we
have no final and unquestionable text of Holv Scrip
ture to which we can turn as the original version. The
original manuscripts have long since perished. Our
existing MSS differ greatly, in various complicated
ways, and while we are practically certain of the sense
of most passages, we often cannot be sure which of
several or many variants is nearest the original in its
exact wording. In view of these unquestionable facts,
it is futile to affirm any longer the verbally-inspired
character of the Bible, and those who would " save
their faces " by suggesting this of the lost original text
are doing small honour to the Holy Spirit, for if it
was worth while working a miracle to produce such a
text, v/hy was not a miracle wrought to preserve it
from corruption ?

The dynamical theory of inspiration tivm^f- Ts the
problem from the form of the Bible, as literature to
the personalities of the wrii.crs. It suggests in the
first place that they were selected in virtue of p<
ing certain qualities which made them apt subjects
for inspiration, and secondly that their human powers
were dominated and safeguarded by .Divine influence
from error in the fulfilment of their function. Such
imperfections and errors in Scripture as could not be
denied were thus of human origin ; the subject-matter
only was .Divine. This theory escapes many of the
difficulties of the previous one, but in its crude forms
it lands us in hopeless psychological problems. I low-
are we to conceive of the method by which a writer
was ensured of infallibility in one sentence while the
next was manifestly erroneous ? In doubtful cases,
how are we to distinguish the one stage from the other ?
And what was the precise relation between the Divine
Spirit and the human in such a prore-.s ? There is,
however, an element of truth in tin s view. There are
diversities of gifts among good men in spiritual as well
as intellectual functions, and be the inspiration where
it may, it must be held to have some relation to the
personality of its medium. And it is easy to recognise
that some of the Biblical writers are habitually nearer
the centre of spiritual reality than others, more sensitive
to the influence of the Divine Spirit, and better fitted
for the expression of religious truth. Also it is quite
in analogy with other facts to believe that a real vision
of God may be compatible with imperfect knowledge
of facts and events, and that a true point of view
may co-exist with much intellectual error and con
fusion. The artist may not be a good historian ; the
seer may be a poor logician. And it is quite consistent
to hold that a man may be truly inspired though he
may be fallible in the way he delivers himself of his
message. When it is said, " Men spake from God, as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost," we are not
bound to believe that the ordinary laws of thought
and limitations of personality were suspended during
the process. The truth may have taken on the colour
of the speaker s temperament and individuality, and
so be more or less distorted in expression, without
losing its Divine quality. With these qualifications

it is in accordance with the facts to speak of the
writers of Scripture as " inspired men." The Holy
Spirit did not fail of His purpose because His instru
ments of revelation were fallible though supremely
gifted souls. They were what may be called religious
geniuses, who co-operated actively in the spiritual
function for which they were chosen. As Professor
Peake puts it, " This is not to minimise the Divine
element in the creation of Scripture. On the contrary,
it enhances it. Just as the Spirit of God was at work
in the history of Israel, preparing a fruitful soil for
revelation, so too He was active in the creation of the
efficient medium through which He imparted the
revelation itself." (The Bille : Its Origin, Its Signi
ficance, and Its Abiding Worth, p. 395f.)

IV

Revelation and inspiration are co-ordinate terms.
The former denotes the unfolding knowledge of God s
nature and saving purpose ; the latter, the means
and methods by which that knowledge has been
achieved. " The action of God on the nature of man
we may call inspiration ; its result, the perfected
and purified consciousness of self and the world, and
God, is revelation " (Garvie). As regards the Bible,
the deposit of spiritual truth which it contains, consti
tutes its revelation ; the characteristic spiritual quality
of the writers and, secondarily, of the literature through
which this has come to us, we call their inspiration.

The old view of revelation was that it was to be
found in the substance of Scripture throughout its
course without distinction or difference. Theologically
this made the Bible a storehouse of texts and passages,
any one of which could be quoted with equal appro
priateness in the upbuilding of doctrine. In a book
of such varied contents and of so many diverse points
of view, it was thus possible by a careful selection
of proof-texts to formulate any number of diverse and
incompatible theological constructions, especially when
the literary context and historical setting of the books
whence these texts were drawn were ignored, as was
generally the case. Calvinist and Arminian, Trini
tarian and Socinian, Swedenborgian and Latter-day
Saint, Universalist and Particularist, drew their credal
systems from the same source ; they each and all
claimed scriptural authority for the result ; and there
was no objective standard or norm of interpretation
\\hich could be appealed to in settling their rival
claims to acceptance. The breaking up of the Protes
tant world into the innumerable sects and systems
of thought which characterised the seventeenth,
eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries was mainly due
to this conception of the Bible as throughout a homo
geneous and equally authoritative body of truth con
cerning God, Man, and the World, the interpretation
of which must be left to individual judgment.

Religiously, while this theory of revelation helped
to place the Bible on a pedestal of sanctity and
authority over human life which had its beneficent
side, it had other baleful results. Fortunately the
NT so clearly showed that the OT system of religious
ordinances was superseded by the later and more
spiritual developments of revelation that a certain
limit was put at the outset to the binding character
of OT regulations. But in other directions the " hard "
view of Scripture made for rigidity of conduct and
character, and exercised a painful tyranny over weak
consciences. It turned customs of ancient times into
rules for modern everyday life to which they were
manifestly inappropriate. The Puritan Sunday was

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

really a substitution of the rigid Jewish Sabbath (and
that a travesty) for the free spiritual conception of the
Lord s Day. The words of Scripture were used as
oracles for the determination of moral problems and
difficult situations. Verses chosen in a haphazard way
were dealt with as magical formula settling problems of
conduct. The very Gospel of Jesus was superstitiously
made into a textbook from which to read the dark
future. When a bishop had to be elected in the sixth
century, church officials almost always consulted the
Psalter (!) first, on behalf of the man to be elected.
Bible verses written on parchment were attached to
easy chairs in order to keep away evil spirits ; little
Gospels were hung round the necks of babies to ward
off impending evil. And even in modern times the
rightful reverence felt for the Bible by devout souls
has often been travestied by this tendency to resort
to it as a storehouse of magical charms. More terrible
still was the abuse of Scripture in its references to
witchcraft. Religious persecution has scarcely a darker
page than the treatment meted out to wizards and
witches in mediaeval times mainly on the " autho
rity " of Scripture. Not only were those suspected
of practising the Black Art tortured, but no limit was
placed on the amount or kind of torture to which the
unhappy victims were subjected, as was done in the
case of "heretics. The false confessions made by these
victims under the stress of unbearable agony gave a
factitious colour to the accusation, and gradually built
up a system of superstition on this subject from which
the religious world has only recently emerged. Scarcely
less sorrowful has been the attempted justification for
slavery drawn from the patriarchal and later custom
in Biblical times, and more especially from Noah s
curse on Canaan (Gen. 025*). It was forgotten that
slavery among the Hebrews was a very different and
far more humane institution than in any adjoining
nation, or even in modern times ; and that Christian
ministers should have been found in the Southern
States of America during the Civil War who justified
the horrible custom on Biblical grounds, is one of the
Baddcst results in history of a perverted theory of
Scripture.

The mechanical theory of revelation has had still
other unfortunate and mischievous results. One of
these is the use of the Bible as a " book of puzzles "
as regards future events. Periodicals are still published
which occasionally draw up apocalyptic programmes
where the fate of modem nations and of the race is
foreshadowed with a confidence rivalled only by their
futility. It is one of the marvels of religious psychology
that this practice has survived so many refutations,
but it is happily clear that its day is nearly done.
We can no longer believe that the vivid pictures of
future destiny in the apocalyptic literature of the
Bible have any reference to the Europe of the twentieth
century, or can serve as a guide in foretelling the de
velopment of events in the centuries to come. How
many fears and terrors in medueval and later times
would have been spared the soul of man, if the key
to this literature had been discovered earlier !

Perhaps, however, it is in the inhibiting influence
exercised by this conception of revelation on the pro
gress of scientific thought that its most practical effect
is seen. Take the science of history. So long as the
literal, matter-of-fact interpretation of Scripture was
universally held, it was impossible for Christian thinkers
to approach extra-Biblical records of the past with
anything like independence of judgment. For
mediaeval thinkers history began in heaven when the
Holy Trinity conceived the idea of creation, and ended

in heaven with the Last Judgment. The stages of
this history are given in the Bible from Genesis on,
the whole account being accepted as literally true.
Round this vertebral column were entwined all kinds
of apocryphal legends and mythical embellishments
guaranteed by the Church as valid history, which no
one was permitted to question on pain of torture and
excommunication. Associated with this mass of
superstitious nonsense was a crude cosmology equally
authoritative and futile. The universe was an edifice
of three floors the heaven above, a compact dome
in which the stars were fixed, while the planets moved
in their own sphere ; higher was the region where
the Holy Trinity dwelt, surrounded and adored by a
countless multitude of angels whose business it was to
keep heaven and earth in constant communication ;
below was the earth itself, a large round plane, " the
centre of which was Jerusalem, where, in the same
place, Adam was buried and Christ was crucified, so
that the blood of the Saviour dropped into the skull
of Adam " ; below the earth was the great dark
dungeon called hell, the home of the devil and his
angels, who competed with the angels for the soul of
man, and where the various types of departed sinners
worked out their eternal destiny in varying depths)
of woe.

Such was the grotesque view of history and cosmology
based on the scriptural account of heaven, earth, and
man, which for a thousand years formed the working
background of men s thoughts of the universe, and
which for centuries resisted attack. It is not till a
period within living memory that this artificial but
obstinate scheme of things finally broke down under
the impact of advancing science. The path of know
ledge, like the path of faith, has been marked with the
graves of martyrs, and by bloody footprints of suffering
and sorrow. The first blow came from the Copernican
astronomy, which dethroned the earth from her
central position among the heavenly bodies ; the
second from geology, which superseded the Mosaic
programme of the creation of the world in six days,
and substituted eras of unimaginable length in the
formation of the earth s crust for the legendary week
of Gen. 1 ; the third from the theory of evolution,
whicli filled the vast ranges of space and time thus
suddenly thrown open with a perspective of developing
life, whose evolution is still far from its goal. The
emancipation is now fairly complete ; but unfor
tunately, the triumph of science has for the time
impaired the authority of Scripture not only as a text
book of astronomy or physics, but in its own proper
domain as a fountain of religious knowledge and of
spiritual inspiration.

There is one other result of the plenary theory
which must not pass without brief notice. We refer
to the science of interpretation. If every part of
Scripture contains Divine truth, each part must have
some definite value for religion as such. How, then,
are we to deal with those portions which are hard
to differentiate from the ordinary annals of other
nations, with their trivial personal details and (in
some cases) their doubtful morality ? What value for
spiritual life can we find in the minute liturgical and
ceremonial details of the Tabernacle and its services ?
What of the obscure passages in many of the prophets,
especially the apocalyptic sections ? What of the
erotic references in the Song of Songs ? What of the
genealogies in the Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah ?
In order to win abiding spiritual sustenance from these
portions, the allegorical method of interpretation had
to be employed. In addition to the plain, literal

6

THE BIBLE: 1T3 MEANING AND AIM

meaning of Scripture there was also the mystical or
spiritual meaning, and it was the work of the com
mentator to discover and unfoid this for the edification
of the devout reader. That there is a mystical side
to the Bible especially in some parts we must all
allow. It is also true that the laws of the moral and
spiritual life may be legitimately illustrated or deduced
in many subtle ways from the most trivial events.
Tt-j allegorical interpreter, however, was not satisfied
with such sober methods, but allowed his religious
imagination to carry him away into the wildest
extravagances. In doing so, he followed a custom
deeply embedded in Greek and Hebrew literature.
Allegory has been called " the safety-valve for Greek,
Jew, and Christian." There is an indigenous tendency
in the human mind which recognises by a natural
intuition the analogy between the material and spiritual
orders ; and this tendency (in the absence of historical
criticism) was for the literalist the only way to avoid
an awkward situation. Homer, for instance (the
" Bible of the Greek "), was from the time of Anaxa-
goras treated allegorically. The actions of the Greek
gods and goddesses typified the movements of natural
forces ; " the story of Aras and Aphrodite and
Hephcestas is a story of iron subdued by fire, and
restored to its original hardness by Poseidon, that is,
by water " ; or else they were the movements of
mental powers and moral virtues (cf. the legend of
Odysseus and the Sirens, etc.). (See Hatch, llibbert
Lectures, pp. G2, 64.) Again the Palestinian Jews
allegorised the OT, finding a hidden meaning in
sentences and even letters, especially for homiletic
purposes ; while the Alexandrian Jews, being in close
touch with the Platonic school of thought, did the
same by their sacred books, in order to prove that
they were neither impious nor barbarous, and that
Moses was the teacher or anticipator of Pythagoras,
Plato, and the Stoics. " The Hellenistic thinkers de
sired to be Greek philosophers without ceasing to be
Jewish religionists." The representative Hellenist was
the Alexandrian Philo, who reduced allegory to a
system ; and in his eager desire to extract a higher
meaning from the most trivial details of the OT, the
narrative was at times quite lost sight of. We find
traces of this method even in Paul s writings, who
was well versed in Rabbinical methods, as in his
treatment of the legend of Hagar (Gal. 42|ff.), in his
use of the Israelitish wanderings (1 Cor. lOi-n), and
in his view of the spiritual import of marriage (Eph. 5
22-33 ; cf. also 1 Cor. Ogf., 2 Cor. 3i3iT., etc.). There
is a further development of this method in Hebrews,
which deals with Judaism as the shadow of Chris
tianity. The writer is fond of pointing out analogies
and contrasts between the invisible, archetypal, im
perishable world, and the visible, perishable world of
sense (cf. his elaborate allegory of Melchizedek, which
reminds us of Philo s treatment of Melchizedek as an
allegory of the Logos). There was, therefore, abundant
literary and religious precedent for the use of the
allegorical method by Christian writers, supreme among
whom was Origen of Alexandria. This method of
handling Scripture was continued into later ages, and
its close relation to literalist views of revelation is seen
in the extravagancies of pietist writers down to our
own time. The method has certain advantages in
educing spiritual truth from very unpromising material,
and as a " methodological device " is perhaps occasion
ally justifiable for practical homiletic purposes ; but
as a serious business it is profoundly vicious, since it
is based on an unreality, and is, in the last resort, a
mere intellectual subterfuge, and at best an indulgence

of the religious imagination. Its worst feature is that
it breeds carelessness of the real meaning of Scripture
and a habit of intellectual indolence. In an age of
critical thought most students will hold it to be little
short of a pious insincerity ; it is time it should be
recognised to have had its day, and treated as a
hindrance to the discovery and exposition of Scriptural
truth.

It would be misleading and sorely unjust, however,
to ignore the fact that these obsolete views of inspira
tion and revelation in earlier ages did not hinder the
positive teaching of Scripture from being grasped and
appreciated. Till the wind of the critical movement
began to trouble the quiet waters of faith, they were
the only possible theories for those who valued the
Word of God as Divinely given for the salvation of
man. The plenary idea of inspiration did good
service for the Church in many ways. In the first
place, it ensured that the Bible should be valued at
its infinite worth. During the ages before printing,
and when every copy had to be made by hand, it
guaranteed that the utmost care should be exercised
to reproduce the original accurately, that the very
letters should be written lovingly and beautifully, and
that no conscious addition should be made to the text,
or anything left out through carelessness or inattention.
The contents and form of the book being equally
priceless, no material but the best available was used
in its reproduction, and every care was taken for its
preservation, thus ensuring long life for the MSS.
Later on, reverence for the Book was shown in the
exquisite script and illumination which characterised
the mediaeval copies. To this end Charlemagne, above
all anxious to secure a really good, trustworthy text
of the Bible, made a regulation that no unskilled or
tinscholarly person should be employed as a copyist,
for, as he said, " it needs not only piety, but grammar
and good grammar to understand what you are copy
ing " ; and he collected a college of scholars, at the
head of whom he placed Alcuin, a monk from England,
to do this sacred work. It is this reverence for the
very letter of Scripture which accounts for the fact
that though there are thousands of various readings
in the MSS., the text of the Bible has been better pre
served for us than that of any other ancient book.
The same sentiment ensured that great care should
be shown in the translation of the Bible into other
tongues. The finest scholarship and the most loving
solicitude have been shown in this work throughout
the ages, down to the present day. The result is that
this Book so eminently translatable because of its
concrete character, and its vivid though limited
vocabulary has been aptly rendered into most of the
languages in which it has appeared, and has generally
become the standard and norm of literary style.
Again, for the same reason, there is probably no book
that has been so widely read, and pondered, and com
mented on as the Bible. The most gifted intellects
of all ages have expended their insight and skill in
discovering its meaning, and in applying its message
to every human need. Because devout scholars have
been convinced that it is able to make men " wise unto
salvation," they have grudged neither time nor effort
searching its height and depth, its length and breadth,
for light on the path of duty, for direction in the per
plexities and temptations and sorrows of life. Since
its various parts were collected into a single volume,
there is no literature, with the exception possibly of
the Chinese classics, that has commanded a tithe of

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

the conscientious study and loving exposition received
by the Bible.

" But all this was only a means to a greater end. The
vast expenditure of effort in copying, translating, ex
pounding, and annotating the Book that ha:) been
going on throughout the centurion had a practical
purpose. It was to enable men to appropriate for
themselves the content of the revelation contained in
it. Mistaken as we believe earlier ages to have been
in their identification of the form with the substance,
the Bible did its work, and still does it, in the hearts
of its readers. There is that in it which he who runs
may read, and which is equally within the reach of
wise and simple if they but have the teachable mind
and the open heart. Indeed the great triumphs of
this Book in saving men from their sins, instructing
and building up the Church of Christ, elevating thought,
purifying morals, inspiring reforms, and initiating
movements for the betterment of the world, were
won while these now outworn theories of its nature
were practically universal. The modern scholar and
the critic over-estimate their function if they think
that it has been reserved for them to discover the
essential message of the Bible. They have wrought a
priceless benefit for the future of religion in that they
have brought Biblical Science into line with the rest
of human knowledge, and made it possible for the
educated mind to read it with more accuracy and
understanding, unburdened with the impedimenta of
superstitious ideas ; but they have done no more
than this. The religious value of the Bible depends
on its validity, its broad, spiritual appeal, its extra
ordinary power of reaching and transforming the soul
of man. When our function as critics is done, we
must still go to Scripture for its own authentic Word,
and that can be grasped and won only if we combine
the insight and judgment of the scholar with the
heart of a little child. The destructive work of
criticism is necessary and good : it is now its task to
build a positive view of the Bible which shall do for
the coming generations what the older view, in spite
of its imperfection and error, did for the generations
gone by.

VI

We pass on to consider the authority of the Bible.
What changes have been necessitated in this respect
by the new view of its inspiration and of the nature of
revelation ?

It has always been perplexing and difficult to define
the relation between religion and authority. There is
an instinctive craving in the human soul for a standard
of belief and conduct which shall be accepted as in
fallible. To stigmatise this as a superstition or an
infirmity is to pass an undiscriminating judgment
on a universal tendency. What marks man everywhere
in all his strivings after spiritual peace and assurance
must be a valid instinct in. itself, however many the
abuses associated with its workings. If the essence
of religion lies in obedience, the question inevitably
rises- obedience to what or whom ? Surely only to
that which has a right to such obedience ; and perfect
unquestioning obedience can properly be given only
to what has an absolute right to it. Till we attain the
conviction that we have found this " goal of heart s
desire," there will be doubt in our allegiance, and
uncertainty in our conduct. The longing for a valid
criterion of truth, and a final standard of right, has
thus been among the most passionate of all man s
religious impulses. It has also been one of the most
difficult to satisfy o difficult, indeed, that most men

have cither given up the quest as impossible, or have
attempted to satisfy it along secondary and derivative
lines.

Now when pushed to its ultimate conclusion there
can bo but one clear and self-evident answer to the
question what is the ultimate f;eat of authority in
religion ? Thnt authority can be. found only in the
revealed will of God. He alone who created us ^ and
sustains us, and who has " made us for Himself," has
the right to cur entire and unquestioning obedience.
The very word " authority " (like " religion ") implies
a personal relation, and this relation can only be that
between God and the soul. The real problem begins
at tiiis point. How may we reach the conviction that
we have arrived at a sound knowledge of the will of
God ? " Show us the Father," said Philip, " and it
sufficeth us." But how are we to know Him ?

The mystic clr.ims to reach this knowledge of God
by mean s of the " inner light." He repudiates all
appeal to external authority; because it is external,
it. can have no real bearing on conscience, which must
and can only be illumined from within. Without dis
paraging the priceless services rendered to religion by
the mystics, and allowing that they are right in claim
ing the possibility of an immediate vision of the
Divine, their method, uncorreeted by any independent
standard, in too subjective in character, too vague in
its results, to satisfy the needs of the average soul.
The most fruitful mystics have been those nurtured
in an atmosphere of objective religion which has cor
rected their inclefinitcness of statement, and their
tendency to substitute a morbid introspection for
sound teaching and healthy activity. Nor do the
mystics always agree in their readings of the will of
God ; some are nobly sane and practical in thought,
others full of extravagance and mistiness who shall
judge between them ? Clearly, while mysticism is one
way of coming into fruitful touch with the Divine
realities, it is not the only way, nor is it a sure

The ecclesiastic affirms the Church to be the only
authoritative channel of the revelation we seek,
Divinely appointed. Divinely safeguarded from error.
We are not disloyal to the Church if we point out her
failure as an infallible source of Divine knowledge.
Her boasted infallibility has been historically proved
to be a broken reed ; she has never really spoken at
any one time with clear consentient voice, nor have
her utterances been consistent with one another in
different ages. She has the advantage over mysticism
in that she expresses the collective- consciousness of
believers, but the decrees of her councils have been
too often the result of compromises between warring
parties to bo free from aberration and inconsistency.
Her claim as regards the Bible that it is her child
,ind net her standard, and therefore that she alone
has the right to teach and interpret it to the devout
believer is unsound in point of fact. The Church
did not create the Bible, any more than the Bible the
Church ; they were both derived from a common
source the experience of those who came into personal
contact with Jesus Christ, and felt the inspiration of
His saving personality and work. The Gospels are
the memorials of His life and teaching which took shape
within the early Church, but were not created by it ;
the epistles are the literary deposit of the experience
of those who were filled with the power of His Holy
Spirit, and who, living under the quickening influence
of His grace, founded the Church. This reciprocal
relation between Church and Bible thus invalidates
the claim of the Church to superiority over the Bible

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

as the ultimate revelation of God, and the authentic
interpreter of His will. They are co-ordinates.

What then of the Bible Itself ? The Protestant,
having repudiated the infallible authority of the
Church, fell back on the Book as the ultimate standard
of religious truth. Round this idea clustered a for
midable set of affirmations regarding its inerrancy,
and its perfect consistency with itself. For centuries
it was possible to hold this theory with sincerity and
confidence, though the wit of theologian and apologist
was taxed to the utmost in dealing with many problems
of internal consistency and harmony. The rise of
historical and linguistic criticism has. however, finally
destroyed these claims. This, of course, does not
mean that it is devoid of authority for the discovery
and exposition of the Divine Mind and Will. It still
remains an incontrovertible because experimental
truth, that out of the Bible a Divine Voice speaks, and,
when the authentic accent of that voice comes home
to us, we cannot for a moment doubt that we are face
to face with the ultimate authority over the human
soul. This, however, is quite other than affirming
the infallible authority of the Bible as a written revela
tion. The Book, like the Church and the mystic inner
voice, points to someone beyond itself.

Let us pursue this point a little further. It is to be
noted that while many theologians and spiritually-
minded believers have laid stress on the authority of
the Bible as such, and even on its inerrancy and in
fallibility, the writers of the Book, and of its various
portions, never make this claim for themselves. True,
we come here and there on such phrases as " Thus
saith the Lord, but these always refer to individual
utterances which the speaker was persuaded had come
to him directly from God Himself, and never to the
Book as a whole, nor to particular books included in
the Canon. Indeed, as Dr. Dale, in his little book on
Protestantism : Its Ultimate Principle, points out, the
universal experience of devout Christians sustains the
statement that in reading even the NT " the idea of the
authority of the Book as a book is hardly ever thought
of. The book explain it how we may vanishes.
The truth read there shines in its own light. I forget
Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John. I see
Christ face to face ; I hear His voice ; I am filled
with wonder and joy. I forget St. Paul, and am
thrilled with gratitude for the infinite mercy which
justifies me freely for Christ s sake, and for His sake
grants me the free gift of eternal life. I forget St.
James, and think only of the authority of the Divine
Law. I forget St. John in the vision of the Divine
Love. The infallibility of the Council, or of the Pope,
recurs to me constantly when I am considering their
definitions of truth ; it comes between me and the
truth itself. Whether the writers of the New Testa
ment are infallible or not is a question which rarely
occurs to me. Somehow when they tell me a truth,
I come to know it for myself ; the truth is mine and
not merely theirs. Practically the Bible does not
come between me and God " (pp. 41, 42).

May we not carry this line of thought a little further
still ? There are those who claim that the value of
the Bible lies in the fact that it contains the revelation
of the Son of God, who is Himself the ultimate authority
for Christian believers. And this, properly under
stood, is a profound truth. To know Jesus Christ in
His saving mission and work is to know God. " He
that hath seen me," He is reported to have said, " hath
seen the Father." It is the testimony of the Christian
consciousness in all ages, that to find Jesus is to find
God. Beyond Him we cannot go in our search for

the Eternal, who in Him has spoken His will as in no
one else. This claim for the ultimate character of the
Divine revelation in Jesus Christ is, however, some
times affirmed in a way difficult any longer to sub
stantiate. Jesus whatever more He may have been
was a J ew of the first century ; born of a particular
lineage ; brought up under certain social and intel
lectual conditions verydifferent from our own ; bearing
marks of the peculiar culture and outlook on life that
belonged to His age and His environment. He was
one who knew little, if anything, of Greek philosophy,
of Roman law, and nothing of the vast accumulation
of knowledge which has been garnered and systematised
since His day. Furthermore, the records of His life
and teaching are such that while derived for the most
part from eyewitnesses of His earthly presence and
ministry, they can scarcely be described as contempo
raneous. His words as they have come to us bear as
a whole the unmistakable stamp of His personality.
Still, it is impossible to prove in particular instances
that we have His ipsissima verba, for (so far as we
know) He Himself wrote no word of His discourses,
which were essentially oral in character, and must
have passed through many repetitions and transla
tions from Aramaic into Greek before they took the
condensed form in which we possess them ; indeed, we
have more than one variant in the Synoptists them
selves of some of His most characteristic sayings, and
they cannot all bo literally accurate, especially when
we remember that we have them in their Greek and not
their original Aramaic form. All this clearly proves,
in the first place, that the authority of Jesus in religion
must be more carefully defined than by our forefathers.
We cannot claim infallibility for Him on questions of
history, such as the authorship of OT books, or on
the problems of science. In these directions He must
be quite frankly considered to have accepted the
current notions of His time. He did not come to set
the world right on these matters, but to reveal the
saving purpose of God for humanity, and to fulfil His
work for the redemption of the world by what He
taught, and wrought, and suffered, and achieved in His
victory over sin and death. But when we go to Him
for light on the nature of God, on Hi* fatherly relations
to us, on His attitude regarding sin and forgiveness, on
His redeeming grace, on the ideal life He would have
us lead, and on His willingness to help us in our utter
spiritual need, we discover in Jesus a revelation of
saving power which finds its corroboration to-day, as
in all ages since the days of His flesh, in the triumphant
experience of believing men and women. Secondly,
the conditions under which the gospel has come down
to us leave us free to exercise a sane judgment on the
applicability of many of His maxims to our own times.
Their literal application even if we are persuaded
that we have them in their original form is often
impossible to-day. Some of his characteristic pre
cepts were special injunctions to particular persona
under circumstances that have no parallel in our own
experience. If we would truly obey Jesus we must
therefore interpret these sayings broadly, disentangling
the inner principle from the outward form, and applying
them to our own case under the guidance of the
general sense of His teaching as a whole. He would
be the last to wish His people to be perpetually bound
by mere literalism ; " My words," He said, " they are
spirit and they are life." This leaves us a large liberty
of action while we are bound by the heartiest loyalty
to Himself and His Gospel. When thus followed, the
general spirit of His teaching is found to result in the
same experience of redemption and peace and joy in

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

the Holy Ghost as was the case with His first disciples
and with the saints of all subsequent ages ; and the
question of authority, while impossible to express in
abstract terms, is solved in practice without in any
way interfering with the freedom of the spirit, and the
sacred responsibilities of personality.

THE OLD TESTAMENT
VII

Having thus defined in a general way the changed
modern attitude to the religious literature comprised
in the Bible, we can investigate its permanent value
for faith with open and unembarrassed minds. Before
we deal with its specific contents from this point of
view, two or three general remarks are needful, bearing
with special significance on the character of the OT
literature.

In the first place, we must once and for all set aside
the pre-critical view of the Bible as an isolated and
complete book. Before the dawn of criticism, scholars
and commentators dealt with it as though it were the
pure result of an immediate and unrelated revelation.
It was like Melchizedek, " without father and without
mother," owing nothing to any previous literature,
and having no affinity with the sacred books of other
nations. We now know that, however unique it may
be in its contents and method, it was the deposit oi a
complex series of religious movements, dating from
very ancient times. It is no longer possible to trace
its indebtedness to all the specific sources ; but it i
certain that the religious life and faith of which it is
the exponent was a stream that drew its waters from
a vast watershed of spiritual history and experience.
We can follow some of its tributaries far back into
previous ages. The laws attributed to Moses, for in
stance, if they were not derived directly from the Code
of Hammurabi (pp. 51, 130), have so much in common
with it that the two codes must at least have been
largely derived from some common source. The stories
ofthe Creation and the Flood have unmistakable
resemblances to myths and traditions in other early
faiths. In the later books, clear traces are visible of
the influence of Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and
perhaps Zoroastrian ideas. The comparative study of
ancient religions, and especially the discoveries of
archaeologists in the East, constantly throw fresh light
on the origins of Biblical thought and literature. This
does not in the least subtract from, but rather adds
lustre to, the unique independence and strength of its
contents ; if the material is partly the same, the out
look, spirit, and handling of this material is stamped
with an individuality and a loftiness all its own. We
cannot measure the incomparable value of the Bible
till we collate it with the previous or contemporary
religious literature of the various nations with whom
Israel came into successive contact during its chequered,
but Divinely ordered history.

Secondly, the Bible as we have it is a very much
edited body of literature, and the various editors have
treated their earlier sources with considerable freedom ;
nor have they always been very skilful in their treat
ment. In the Hexa tench (Genesis to Joshua, pp. 121-
132) we can trace four main sources of narrative and
laws woven by the later editors into a complex and by
no means homogeneous whole, and much more ancient
materials were probably used in the composition of
each of these. Scholars have been able to disentangle
these narratives and laws into their various threads,

and to lay them side by side, so that the special view
points and purposes of the writers stand out clearly
sometimes indeed in vivid contrast. We can thus see
that there are two accounts of creation (Gen. li-24,
and 246-25) ; two closely-interwoven versions of the
Flood-story, and several twin-narratives of patriarchal
and monarchic times. Not a few of the prophetic
writings under the names of single authors are now
held to be of composite origin ; the speeches of Ehhu
in the Book of Job are probably by a different author
from that of the rest of the book ; the Proverbs
assigned to Solomon are a collection drawn from many
sources, as are the Psalms attributed to David, etc.
(for fuller details see the Commentary). By analysing
the various books into their constituent elements,
many contradictions and inconsistencies are accounted
for, and much light is thrown on the literary methods
and religious interests of Biblical writers.

Thirdly, the Canonical Old Testament is the survival
of a much larger body of literature, most of which is
now probably irretrievably lost, though certain portions
of earlier works are incorporated in our Biblical books.
The literature of most peoples began with poetry,
which was originally composed for oral recitation, and
afterwards put into writing. We have many such
fragments in the historical books, e.g. the song of
Miriam (Exod. 15 2 of.), of Deborah the prophetess
(Jcr 5), of Lamech (Gen. 423), and many others
Nil. 2127-30, Jos. 10i2f., 1 S. 21n, 2 S. 119-27, 3331-,
etc.); most of these are songs of triumph over fallen
enemies, or threnodies over fallen friends, battle songs,
or pa3ans of victory, denunciations of enemies or of
faithless friends; but here and there we have the
genuine religious note in the expression of hearty
allegiance to Yahweh as Israel s God (Nu. 21 14,
Jg. 5 2 f.,9,n,i3, 1 S. 1817,25,28). These outbursts of
poetry bear the marks of genuineness and spontaneity,
and the fact that they are embedded in the narrative
in so obvious a manner bears witness to the historicity
of the events to which they refer, though, of course,
they do not guarantee the details of the stories as we
have them. Some of these quotations are from an
ancient collection of (probably) warlike songs called
the " book of Jashar " (the upright) which dated from
a period a little later than that of David (cf. 2 S.I 17-27),
but of which nothing further is known (p. 45). How far
the historical books from Judges to Nehemiah use up
earlier literary sources it is not always possible to
determine in detail, but it is likely that by the time of
David " a prose style must have been developed along
side of the poetry " (Sanday), as is seen in the excellent
account of David s court iand family in 2 S. 9-1.0,
which reads like authentic history compiled from first
hand materials. The two- streams of narrative running
through 1 S. also-suggest the -existence of contemporary
documents used by later writers engaged in tracing
the history of Israel to its origins, and embodying
still earlier traditions. It was the custom of many
early historians to incorporate fragments of previous
writings verbatim el literatim without acknowledgment,
piecing these together without much art, often making-
no effort to test their trustworthiness, and occasionally
embellishing them with additional details of their own,
as is seen in the two books of Chronicles, which con
tain highly coloured duplicates of earlier narratives m
Samuefand Kings. The last-mentioned instance gives
us valuable material for noting how special religious
interests affected the mind of many of the writers in
dealing with earlier materials, and how fully they felt
justified in modifying the narratives for their own
purposes.

1 a

10

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

VIII

Bearing these considerations in mind, we are in a
better position to handle the question of the historical
and religious value of the OT.

This problem becomes insistent in view of the loss
of belief in the infallibility of the OT Scriptures as a
medium of revelation, and the consequent shifting of
emphasis from the records to the facts that lie behind
them. As we have no means of getting at the facts
except through the record, does not the new view of
the Bible land us in a state of uncertainty from which
there is no escape ?

1. The answer to this question must be frankly,
" Yes, as regards many of the details." It may be
freely allowed, indeed, that in reading the OT we
are not dealing with history at all in the modern sense
of the term, but with a certain treatment of history
which has a profound spiritual value. These ancient
books were written long before the science of history
as we know it was born. The writers were divided
by a great gulf even from the ancient classical his
torians ; how much more from the scientific historians
of to-day ! The aim of the modern historian is to
reproduce as accurately as possible the significant
events of the past ; to give true and unvarnished
pictures of the great personalities who swayed the
destinies of nations ; to describe the struggles, manners,
customs, laws, institutions, forms of government,
economic conditions of successive ages ; to trace the
line of causation from one salient historical situation
to another ; and to connect the story of one nation
to another in an organic way. The OT lacks nearly
all these notes of careful and authentic history. To
summarise Dr. Peake s frank and able treatment of
this question we may say that the OT narratives
are often meagre when we most desire to find them
full, and full of detail where we should expect them to
be meagre. The story of long periods is sometimes
summarised in a few words, or left totally blank,
while the biographies of individuals are given with
almost irritating minuteness. It is still an open
question who the Pharaoh of the Oppression was ;
when the Exodus took place ; how long was the period
of the Judges ; what took place during the long years
of the Exile, and during the seventy years between the
" return " and the rebuilding of the Temple ; and
why the history of Israel appears to come to an end
400 years before the coming of Jesus. During the
latter period " we have the training of the people by
the discipline of the completed Law ; the transforma
tion of prophecy into apocalypse ; the downfall of
Persia ; the conquests of Alexander, which changed
the face of the world ; the subtle penetration of
Jewish life by the Greek spirit ; the attempt of
Antiochus Epiphanes to root out the Jewish religion ;
the Maccabamn rising and all that followed it ; the
creation of the Judaism into which Jesus came "
( The Bible : Its Origin, Its Significance, and Its
Abiding Worth, p. 299). The OT as history errs also
by redundance as well as defect. The early narratives
of Genesis are given with a vivid and particular detail
which suggests contemporary sources, and yet it is no
longer possible to accept much of their substance as
historical at all. Myth and legend are related as
though they were actual occurrences ; the accounts
given of the patriarchs, in spite of their vivid charac
terisation, are difficult to accept in detail, and while
we may claim to be on the firm ground of history
when we come to the Exodus, and the creation of the
nation by Moses on a religious basis, we cannot insist

on many particular statements, and the laws attri
buted to Moses bear sure marks of being for the most
part later than his time. There are many uncer
tainties and discrepancies also in the later narratives,
into which we have here no space to enter.

2. If, however, we can no longer insist on regarding
the OT as a book of history in the strict sense of the
word, it is a splendid mine of literary material for the
reconstruction of history. It enables us to put the
salient features of the story of the Jewish nation into
more or less clear perspective, to follow its develop
ment from stage to stage, to trace the growth of its
religion from its crude beginnings to its splendid
climax ; and if to the books of the OT we add those
of the Apocrypha and the apocalyptic literature, we
gain a sufficiently clear idea of the historical sequence
of events from Moses to Christ for all practical pur
poses. If we thus use the Bible as material for a
scientific history as we should any other ancient docu
ments, we finally regain with one hand what we seem
to have lost from the other. Instead of a verbally-
inspired volume of oracles to be accepted as it stands,
we find looming out of these rich but tangled records
the story of a race firmly based on the bed-rock of
history, and fulfilling a function in the life of man
kind as unique as it is imperishable. It is a race
with a genius for religion on the one side, and used by
God for the gradual unfolding of His nature and
saving purpose for mankind on the other, which finds
its consummation in the coming of His Son Jesus
Christ, towards whom all its lines converge as in a
bright and glowing focus, and from which it radiates
down the ages to all nations and lands.

3. What gives the writers of the OT their true
significance is not their power of accurate narration,
but the supreme religious interest which they have in
the past story of then- nation. Taking the standpoint
of the latest editors who handled the complex literary
sources that had come down to them in divers portions
from previous ages, what do we see ? We are looking
back in vision on the story of a people whose differentia
among the races around them was a unique capacity
for God, from whom they often tried to escape, but
from whom escape was impossible, because He held
them as in the hollow of His hand and would not
let them go ; and these people He trained especially
for the purpose of revealing Himself to them, and
through them to the world. It was a people which
produced many outstanding personalities, and which
passed through terrible experiences of war and pesti
lence, famine and captivity. Lawgivers, judges, kings,
poets, prophets it mattered not what these great
men were ; all were used, whether willingly or un
willingly, for the furtherance of God s purpose, and
the gradual unfolding of His will. The very lapses
of the people into the idolatries and cults of surrounding
nations were somehow made ministrant to the same
great end. The process was slow and painful ; it
had many periods of pause and apparent retrogression ;
but during the millennium of the corporate history of
the Israelitish people there was an ever-clarifying
vision of God s holy nature, an ever-firmer grasp of
His providential care and grace, an ever-brightening
forecast of a great consummation towards which He
was bringing them. They were often faithless to their
spiritual function, and sometimes fiercely resisted the
discipline to which they were subjected in the pursuance
of the Divine purpose. This, however, only brings
into greater prominence the Divine factor in the pro
cess, and shows that the history of Israel cannot be
summed up as the result of purely " resident forces,"

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

11

or the mere action and reaction of a race on its own
environment. The story throughout bears witness to
the operation of a supernatural influence acting con
tinuously for long ages on the temperament and char
acter of a nation the unfolding of an authentic
revelation of God in His saving activities, leading to
a still more wonderful revelation to come.

IX

One feature of ethnic religions as a whole is the
strange chasm they present as existing between religion
and morality. Religion stood for a certain relationship
between the Divine and the human, sometimes con
ceived of personally (as in the tribal religions), some
times pantheistically (as in some of the Eastern
religions), sometimes dualistically (as in the Zoroastrian
and Gnostic cults) ; but religion as the Science of
Conduct viewed in its Divine aspects was not to be
found anywhere. Ethical relationships were viewed
as existing only among men, and with these religion
had nothing to do. Even in Grecian and Roman
times, the gods were often conceived of as monsters
of lust, oppression, cunning, and self-indulgence. It
is noteworthy that the lofty ethical systems of Aristotle
and Seneca were developed from the side of philo
sophy, not of theology, and did not emerge till a
period of scepticism as to the real existence of the
gods. It was reserved for the Hebrews alone to
develop a religion which evolved into fullness of
content and authority in ever-deepening association
with an evolution of social ethic unparalleled in lofti
ness and beauty, so that in the end faith and conduct
became identified. The OT is largely a record of a
critical stage in this ethico-religious discipline through
which the people of Israel passed.

1. The nucleus of this ethical movement is to be
found in the covenant-relationship which existed be
tween Yahweh and His people. The exclusiveness
and reciprocity of this relationship were the central
features of Hebraism ; and faithfulness on both sides
was its ethical aspect. Yahweh from the beginning
was a God who kept His word ; who never failed those
who put their trust in Him, and never forgot to punish
those who, once His, forsook Him for strange gods.
In the first four books of the Pentateuch we have
references to repeated covenants between God and
man the racial covenant with Noah, the family
covenant with Abraham, the sacerdotal covenant with
Levi ; and in Deuteronomy we have three such
covenants referred to that with the fathers (Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob), that at Horeb, when the Decalogue
was given, and that on the plains of Moab, which is
the main subject of Deuteronomy itself. This last-
mentioned covenant particularly emphasizes the faith
fulness and immutability of God ; it holds binding
though Israel be scattered among the nations, for God
will not forget His people. Throughout, the ethical
character of these covenants is acknowledged, but this
element grows richer with the lapse of time and the
religious development of the nation.

2. The ethical movement in Israel was greatly en
riched by the prophetic teaching. Though it is only
in Jeremiah and Ezekiel (prophets under the influence
of Deuteronomy) that references to special covenants
are made, the prophets build their message on the
fact of a general covenant-relation between Yahweh
and Israel ; He is their God, and they are His people,
a relation formed by His act in redeeming them from
Egypt (Hos. 12g, Am. 82). This covenant is always
ethical in character. What is required by the prophets

is to " seek good," i.e. civil and moral righteousness,
and the service of Yahweh alone. But the distinctive
message of the prophets goes deeper than this. As
Professor A. B. Davidson says, the prophet is " an
interpreter of events on their spiritual side." " Pro
phecy arises out of history, keeps pace with it, and
interprets it." Events are not mere occurrences
there is a moral meaning in them ; God s will can be
discovered through them, and that will is always a
moral will. Especially is the prophet filled with a
vision of ideals, not as hanging vaguely in the air, but
as implicit in history, and sure of fulfilment in the
future. This predictive element is the fallible side
of prophecy, but it contains a Divine truth, for though
the prophet may be mistaken as to times and seasons,
the moral connexion of events and their sure issues
in the future are safe and valid intuitions. Here we
have the root distinction between true and false
prophets ; the latter are mere soothsayers and pre
dictors, the former grasp the moral meaning of events.
Hence ritual has no place in the prophetic message ;
that element belongs to another plane of thought.
Again, the prophets deal with social relations from
their ethical side as duties owing to God as well as
our neighbour. It is in the holiness and righteousness
of God that we find the ultimate sanction of right
social conduct. And further, there is in the prophets
a constantly growing emphasis on the individual
aspect of conduct. This does not appear explicitly
till the scattering of the nation as such prepares the
way, though it is implicit in the earlier prophets.
This is in one direction the high-water mark of the
prophetic message, since it inaugurates the conception
of clear individual responsibility to God, and lays the
foundations of a type of personal character on which
afterwards the distinctively Christian ideal is built. And
just as the nationalism of the earlier pre-exilic prophets
implied individual responsibility, so the individualism
of the later prophets had a national aspect, since it
was through good, faithful men alone that the nation
could ever revive into strength. In both cases God
appears equally as the Holy Being to whom men
owe their duty, and who will faithfully reward or
punish them according to their deeds. Finally Hia
ethical demands take a higher quality and forcefulness
of appeal through the revelation given of Yahweh in
the later prophets as a God of grace. Some writers
who hold that Yahweh was originally the tribal god of
the Kenites find the first germinal idea of grace in the
fact that He was not originally the tribal or local God
of Israel, but that He took up this homeless tribe in
its enslaved condition and made it His own through
goodwill and pity. This idea is further developed by
Hosea, who represents Yahweh as continuing to love
and befriend Israel in spite of faithlessness because of
His loving nature. In the " Suffering Servant "
passages in Is. 40-55, the highest revelation of the
Divine grace in the OT is seen in His action in identi
fying Himself through His Servant with the suffering,
scattered people, and bearing their sins and sorrows
on His own heart. Here we have the prophetic
equivalent or forecast of the Gospel doctrine of Atone
ment through the Cross.

3. We must turn to the sacrificial and ritual obser
vances in the Law for another contribution of the OT
religion to the education of the moral sense. The
various types of sacrifice the Burnt Offering, the Sin
Offering, the Guilt Offering all had an ethical signifi
cance, standing as they did for the fact of repentance
on the part of the worshipper, and for forgiveness on
the side of God. The Day of Atonement was a cere-

12

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

monial expressly emphasizing God s holiness. In later
times there was an increasing peril of losing this
aspect of the sacrificial system, which tended to harden
into formality, and to obscure the supreme value of
moral conduct in its votaries (cf. our Lord s denuncia
tion of the Pharisees who " tithed mint and anise
and cummin " and forgot the " weightier matters of
the law "). This, however, was the abuse of a higher
function intended for better ends.

The result of all these educative elements in the
discipline of Israel was to develop a religious and
ethical conception of life which stands alone among
ancient faiths in its emphasis on moral character in
closest relationship with spiritual worship. The
critical movement which broke down the old view of
the Bible as an infallible text-book of religion has only
helped to bring more clearly into view the historical
factors which helped to make Israel the medium of
this incomparable benefit for mankind. And it has
removed one supreme difficulty contained in the elder
view, which forced readers of the OT to believe that
many of the earlier customs and acts of the nation
were Divinely commanded. We are now able to
recognise here only a crude stage of ethical develop
ment (in vivid contrast, however, to the still lower
moral standards of surrounding nations), which was
afterwards superseded as the process of revelation
became more and more ethicised, and the refining
conscience of the nation was able to bear its higher
teachings. God made Himself known to this people
as they were capable of receiving the message ; the
light was tempered to the vision ; not till in the full
ness of time Christ came and brought the perfect
revelation of the Fatherhood do we arrive at tho
teaching which superseded all the earlier standards
and gave us a law of conduct applicable to all times
and peoples, and which haa even yet been nowhere
fully realised.

X

We pass to another valuable contribution made by
the OT to the spiritual life in its conception of God s
relation to Nature as the theatre of human life and
destiny. Criticism has been an invaluable help in
realising this in its fullness.

We no longer go to the Bible for the science of Nature.
In those early times there was no such thing as science
in the modern sense of tho term. As already sug
gested, science deals with secondary causes and effects ;
it treats exclusively of what philosophers call the
phenomenal or factual relations of things. On the
other hand, tho Bible has no interest in the mere
sequence of natural cause and effect. It views man
and Nature in only one, i.e. the religious aspect,
which deals with men and things in their relation to
the great First Cause the holy and efficient will of
God. When once this fact is realised in all its bearings
we are emancipated from the unhappy dilemma on
the horns of which our forefathers were impaled for
nearly two thousand years. Believing that every
reference throughout the Bible to the phenomena of
Nature must be taken as infallibly true just as it
stood, they were forced to the position either that
any advance to a clearer knowledge of the science of
Nature must be set aside as fiction, or that the Bible
was in many places unscientific and untrue. We now
perceive that the naive beliefs of Biblical writer?
about natural phenomena were incidental and non-
essential to their true message, and have no claim on
our faith. We are thus left free to inquire into the
significance of their view of Nature from the religious

standpoint, and this we find, in most of its bearings,
to be true for all time.

1. Take the account given to us of the Creation
story in Genesis. Even within living memory this
was the subject of the fiercest controversies between
scientists and theologians. It was taken for granted
on both sides that we had here a literal account of
the making of the universe in six days of twenty-four
hours each, that the various stages of creation must
be accepted as authoritative in the order given, and
that tho slightest proved inaccuracy would totally
invalidate the trustworthiness of the whole. We have
travelled away so rapidly from such a position to-day
that it is hard to enter into the mind of either side in
the controversy, or to excuse their temper. The first
chapter of Genesis is now recognised by all reputable
thinkers to be neither science nor history ; it is a
Hymn of Creation, which takes this form in order to
carry home to tho reader the central truth of tho
dependence of the universe for its existence, its order,
and its maintenance on God, the Creative Spirit, who
made all things well, and who created man to be His
vicegerent and servant at the head of the earthly
order. To quote the words of tho late Professor
Elmslie : " The idea of the arrangement followed is on
the face of it (not chronological) but literary and
logical. It is chosen for its comprehensiveness, its
all-inclusive completeness. To declare of everv part
and atom of Nature, that it is the making of God,
the author passes in procession the great elements or
spheres which the human mind everywhere conceives
as making up the world, and pronounces them one
by one God s creation. Then he makes an inventory
of their entire furniture and content, and asserts that
all these are likewise the work of God. For his pur
pose which is to declare the universal creatorship of
God and the uniform creature-hood of Nature the
order is unsurpassed and unsurpassable. With a
masterly survey which marks everything and omits
nothing, he sweeps the whole category of created
existence, collects tho scattered leaves into six con
gruous groups, encloses each in a compact and uniform
binding, and then on the back of tho numbered and
uniform and ordered volumes stamps the great title
and declaration that they are one and all, every jot,
tittle, shred, and fragment, the works of their Almighty
Author, and of none beside." Viewed scientifically,
this picture of the universe is out of its true perspec
tive, and the order of the development of things is
here and there inaccurate how in that far-away age
could it be otherwise 1 but for its purpose, these
features are irrelevant. The true value of this Creation-
Psalm is seen best when we compare it with similar
fragments of creation-literature among surrounding
nations, and note its unapproached spiritual ugges-
tiveness and beauty. More than this. To quote
words elsewhere used by the writer : " We have but
to compare this Hymn with modern religio-philo-
sophical attempts to enter into the higher aspects of tho
universe to find it springing into lofty and unmis
takable antithesis. Agnosticism pales its ineffectual
fires before the still radiance of this wonderful Hymn ;
Positivism sinks into shamed silence in the presence
of its exultant refrain, Behold, it was very good.
It is the world s morning chant of the goodness and
beauty of the Creator s activity in the making of all
that was, and is, and is to come ; and to the world s
evening in the dim future it will continue to voice the
highest and devoutest mood of humanity in looking
at the earthly home in which it dwells, and works,
and aspires." (The Ascent Through Christ, pp. 90f.)

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

13

2. The attitude of all OT writers is throughout con
sistent with the position taken up in this wonderful
account of creation. Nature is everywhere dependent
on God ; He is Lord of all. The Bible is an open-air
book ; it is redolent of wind and rain, storm and
sunshine, blossom and fruit, for it was written by
men who delighted in the works of God and who never
forgot the Creator in His works, but viewed everything
in the light of His orderly power and providential
care and lovingkindness. (Abundant quotations and
references might be given, but space forbids.) Suffice
it to say that no reader of the Hebrew Scriptures can
familiarise himself with them without coining to con
sider Nature habitually in a worshipping mood, and
finding spiritual suggestions in the order and stability
of the world, in the procession of the seasons, in seed
time and harvest, in the springing corn and the falling
rain. The writers, moreover, are skilful in the figura
tive use of natural phenomena as emblems of spiritual
realities. If, in Emerson s phrase, " language is one
of the uses which Nature subserves to man," and if
" Nature is the symbol of spirit, the Bible overflows
with classical passages in which this process is carried
to its finest limits of expression, especially in the
Psalms, in Job, and in some of the prophetic writings.
We see there how true it is that " the laws of moral
nature answer to those of matter as face to face."
Indeed, with this book in our hands we find the uni
verse becoming transparent, and the light of higher
laws than its own shining through it. We owe it
chiefly to the Hebrew mind that this view of Nature
has become the common possession of all devout souls.

3. There is one aspect of the Biblical view of Nature
which we have more or less outgrown. We are every
where taught in it to believe that God uses special
operations of Nature as elements in the moral discipline
of man a belief which has persisted down to quite
modern times. Storm, famine, pestilence, floods, and
drought are frequently referred to as used for the
punishment of races and nations for evil customs or
for forgetfulness of God. The Flood was His method
of destroying all but a fragment of mankind at a
period of unexampled wickedness (Gen. 65!). The
plagues of Egypt (frogs, lice, flies, murrain, boils, hail,
locusts, etc.) were used to compel Pharaoh to permit
the Israelites to return to Canaan (Exod. Sgf.). A
volcanic outburst destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for
flagrant immorality (Gen. 1924) ; an earthquake
swallowed the families of Dathan and Abiram for
sedition (Nu. 1631) ; David s numbering of Israel was
punished by a pestilence that slew 70,000 men (2 S. 24
15 ; cf. Lev. 2625, Nu. 14i2, Jer. 14i2, Ezek. 012,
Mt. 247, Lk. 21 1 1). So completely were the Hebrews
saturated with the notion that all physical calamities
had a moral significance, that nothing untoward could
happen without its being associated with some sin or
delinquency on the part of mankind. Even in NT
times the disciples feel constrained to ask whether a
certain man s blindness from birth was due to the
fault of his parents or his own (Jn. 92). This belief,
which wo can no longer hold, and which was specifically
discounted by our Lord on two occasions (cf. Jn. 9s
and Lk. 184), we must now relegate to the region of
those beneficent illusions which have played so large
a part in the education of the human race. None the
less it is but the exaggeration of a profound truth, for
man does hold moral relations with Nature, and she
has always exercised a profound influence on his
spiritual development and destiny, both in her bene
ficent and orderly processes, and in those occasional
calamities with which she visits him.

XI

The crowning contribution of the OT to religion
however, remains to be indicated, i.e. its interpretation
of the history of the Hebrew people as the medium of
God s revelation of Hia nature and purpose. This is
to be found, not so much in any direct references to
the fact, as in the instinctive attitude of the writers,
and the general impression of the whole. In the only
book where the compiler is consciously reviewing a
certain period of history in the interests of a theory
(1 and 2 Ch.) the bias is so evident and the exaggera
tion so glaring as compared with the more direct and
veracious account of the ame events in earlier books
(Samuel and Kings) that they are among the least
valuable portions of the OT for spiritual purposes.
But of the literature as a whole we may say that it is
governed by one general and quite unconscious but
commanding motive. Everywhere in these glowing pages
we meet the living God in His revealing mid redeeming
agency. The fact that the Bible contains many layers
of literary deposit, most of which can be at least
approximately dated, enables us broadly at least to
follow the course of this revealing process from start
to finisho The fact that the later editors quite honestly
project their own religious outlook back to quite
primitive times does not hinder us from disentangling
the various stages from each other, and marking the
steps by which the tribal deity Yahweh is finally
manifested as the God of the whole earth and Saviour
of those who put their trust in Him. Viewed from a
purely human standpoint, the Bible is an intensely
interesting book. Its pages teem, with living, moving
figures, all absorbed in their personal concerns, and
working out their destinies with little idea for the
most part that they are links in a chain of a great
spiritual movement, dramatis personal, in a Divine epic,
whose protagonist is God Himself, and who are all
being used for His own beneficent ends. It is this
spiritual interest which binds these varied and complex
writings into an organic whole, and justifies the OT
(in spite of its fragmentary character) being considered
as one Book.

If the OT thus interprets the past history of Israel
in the light of a commanding and creative idea, it
looks forward still more intensely into the future.
From its earliest to its latest pages it is illumined by
a mighty Hope. It is a prophetic book in the best
sense of the term because it places the climax of history
in a Day of the Lord which was to come, in the appear
ing of a Deliverer who would inaugurate a Heavenly
era, in a Kingdom of God which would transform the
world into a now heaven and a new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness. There is a " shadow Christ"
in the OT whose dim and changeful features meet us
in unexpected places, and grow clearer as the centuries
go by ; a greater than Abraham, or Moses, or any of
the prophets, who would one day crystallise the aspira
tions of the nation, and bring about a consummation
that would make all the sorrows, disappointments, and
tragedies of the past well worth undergoing. The
Seed of the Woman who would crush the head of the
serpent, the nation which was to spring from the loins
of Abraham and become as the sand of the seashore,
the Root of Jesse, the suffering Servant of the Lord
these were the nuclei or nodal points of a longing or
dream or anticipation in the heart of Israel which
was its most distinctive and unconquerable mood, and
which no delay or disappointment could quench for
long. This forward look of the OT makes it the most
dramatic of books, especially when we remember that

14

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

the Hope to which it so passionately clings was never
realised till long after its last pages were written (as
well as the apocryphal and most of the apocalyptic
literature Jinking it with the NT), and which was
realised at last in a form as unexpected as it was
complete. God fulfils Himself in many ways, but
seldom in the way we have laid down for Him. It
was at once the tragedy and glory of the OT that it
quickened in its readers an expectancy which it failed
to satisfy. And yet unconsciously all its lines converged
upon Him who was the true realisation of the Hope
of Israel, so that when His work was complete, He
could rebuke His sorrowing disciples with their blind
ness in failing to see that it was He of whom " Moses
and the prophets had spoken " the Hero of the new
covenant which was to fulfil and supersede the old
the One who was to come, Deliverer and Saviour of the
World.

THE NEW TESTAMENT
XII

We have dwelt at some length on the spiritual
aspects of the OT which make it as significant as ever
to-day, in spite or rather with the help of the critical
movement, because hVis about the OT that the average
man is chiefly troubled. It will not bo necessary to
spend so much space by way of general introduction
to the NT, whose religious significance is less affected,
though, as a matter of fact, criticism has been as busy
and in some directions as revolutionary in its treat
ment of its various books and contents. The NT
which criticism has given back to us is a different
book in many ways from what it was in the hands of
(say) our Puritan forefathers. It has been roughly
handled by many of the critics ; the dates of its docu
ments, their authorship, their genuineness and authen
ticity, their reliableness as history, their value as
teaching, have been discussed from almost every
possible point of view ; and many of the problems
raised are still largely unsettled. The main results,
however, stand out fairly clearly.

Christianity is a historical religion, i.e. it is based on
the validity and spiritual significance of a series of
facts without which it could never have arisen at all,
and with the discredit of which it would speedily and
finally lose its influence. Some of these facts lie, as
we have seen, in the historical career of the people of
Israel, whose literary deposit is found in the OT and
apocryphal books ; the main fact indeed is Israel
itself. Greatly as criticism has altered our conception
of the character of this literature, it has only empha
sized the crucial importance for humanity of the
religious movement of which this remarkable people
was the channel. Yet, important as are the facts of
the OT, they are of little account for us to-day in
comparison with the facts of the NT, which are the
fountain head of the Christian faith. How stands it
to-day with these and with their record ?

The importance of this problem is seen more clearly
when we realise how entirely our religion stands or
falls with faith in the person of the historical Jesus.
Those writers who have recently been attempting to
distinguish between the " historical Jesus " and the
" Eternal Christ," with a view to show that faith in
the latter would survive the loss of the former, are
really assuming a philosophical as opposed to a his
torical basis for the faith, and have the testimony of
all past ages against them. Whatever kind of Chris
tianity might survive a supposed proof that Jesus

never lived, or that He is separable from the religion
associated with His name, it would not be the Chris
tianity that has been influencing men so profoundly
for nineteen centuries. We know nothing of any
Eternal Christ, or Christ-Principle except as the spirit
of Jesus working out its influence in history and in
the hearts of men ; and what " God hath joined, let
no man put asunder." It is therefore with justifiable
solicitude that we approach the question, how far we
can depend on the gospel stories for reliable knowledge
of the Person, teaching, and work of Jesus Christ.

Leaving the dates of the particular books in question
for individual treatment in the body of this Commen
tary, we will here restrict ourselves to certain broad
facts, the relevance of which is not affected by such
differences of judgment as exist among NT critics.

XIII

As regards the Synoptics (i.e. the gospels according
to Matthew, Mark, and Luke) we have already hinted
at some of the difficulties which make a literalistio
interpretation of their contents no longer possible.
Even in the case of Mark, which in all probability
contains the earliest account of the events of our
Lord s life, and which was probably written before
A.r>. 70, we are still separated from these by nearly
a generation of time an interval which would permit
of a considerable amount of transformation and con
fusion as regards the details. Furthermore, we are
looking at the personality of Jesus through the eyes
of men who had passed through a unique experience
ol His spiritual influence upon their lives, and it is
difficult not to feel that this experience must have
affected their attitude towards the bare facts, and
more or less transfigured them in their memory.
There are, however, certain considerations which
modify this impression.

1. The time in which Jesus lived was by no means
the illiterate age which some of the earlier critics
imagined it to be. Deissmann (Light from the Ancient
East)^ has _ shown that the art of writing was widely
practised in that age by many ordinary people, who
kept diaries, and were in the habit of jotting down
noteworthy sayings and events that had come under
their notice. There is nothing improbable, therefore,
in the suggestion that many characteristic deeds and
sayings of Jesus were committed to writing at the
time, or very soon afterwards, by those who had seen
and heard Him, and that sorno of them were after
wards collected by devoted men, thus furnishing the
nucleus of the recollections afterwards embodied in
the gospels.

2. It is generally admitted that the writer of
the second gospel was the travelling companion
of Paul and the " interpreter " of Peter, who
knew the facts at first hand. Some critics hold that
Mark contains an earlier document, thus bringing us
even nearer to the events.

3. Mt. and Lk. are not only based on Mk. (or an
earlier writing used by Mk.) but on a collection of
Sayings of Jesus known by scholars as Q (from the
German Quelle, source). This was in all probability
in existence in A.D. 50. And there were other written
sources such as Lk. mentions in his opening words;
Thus even if we cannot date Mt. and Lk. earlier than
A.D. 85-100, there are literary materials embodied in
them which date from a period when contemporaries
of Jesus were still alive (see art. " Synoptic Problem,"
pp. 672-678).

4. We must, however, not exaggerate the value of

TEE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

15

Bnch sources, as though they placed us indubitably in
possession of accurate and literal transcripts of Ilia
words and an exact record of His deeds. There is
still a gap between the events and the records, during
which the memorabilia of Jesus (apart from possibly
contemporaneous fragments) were passed from mouth
to mouth in oral fashion, after the manner of the
times. And while it is legitimate to lay strong emphasis
on the remarkable character of the events, the unique
impression of the personality of the Master, His vivid
and characteristic way of speaking (so splendidly
adapted to an oral method of transmission) and the
tenacity of memory among people drilled, as were all
Jews from infancy, to habits of accurate verbal memory,
we are still far from having any proof that we have the
ipsissima verba of Jesus, or any guarantee that the
events of His life are related with absolute accuracy
in the gospels. In the case of sayings and discourses
contained both in Mt. and Lk. there are often consider
able verbal differences, even when the general sense
is the same (cf. for instance, the " Sermon on the
Mount " in Mt. 5-7 and Lk. 620-49, etc. ; also the
saying concerning divorce of which we have three
versions Mt. 63 if., Mk. lOnf., Lk. 16 18 and some
others). In certain cases we have two versions of
similar sayings in one and the same gospel, without
being literally identical (cf. Mt. 530 and 18s). In
some very important passages it is impossible to
harmonise the various versions. This is particularly
true of the stories of the Virgin Birth and of the
Resurrection. As regards the Birth stories in Mt:
and Lk., we find ourselves in doubt on many points,
and there is reason to believe that a reverent imagina
tion has been at work on traditional material. The
various accounts of the Resurrection, while perfectly
concordant and emphatic as to the fact of the empty
grave, are very discrepant as to the place, the occasion,
and the nature of the post-resurrection appearance of
Jesus, where different traditions seem to have been
followed without any attempt to reduce them to a
harmonious whole. In Mk. 16 we have no defmite
appearances at all, except in an appendix (1 69-20)
which is almost universally held to be no part of the
original gospel, which is indeed clearly a summary
by a later editor of appearances given in the other
gospels. In Mt. we are led to infer that these appear
ances took place in Galilee ; in Lk. they seem to have
taken place in Jerusalem ; according to Jn., they
occurred in both ; while in Ac. again they are in
Jerusalem, where the disciples are commanded to
remain till they " receive power from on high " (re
ferring probably to the descent of the Spirit at Pente
cost). Once more it is impossible fully to harmonise all
these accounts with the list given by Paul in 1 Cor. 15
5-8, which he must have collected from a much earlier
&nd well-informed source. In view of all these facts
it is no longer possible to insist on the literal
accuracy of the gospel narratives ; but concerning
the Fact behind the narratives the authentic Per
sonality of Jesus Christ there is concordant and
emphatic testimony.

xiy

Are we, then, reduced to any serious uncertainty as
to the historical reality of the Central Person in the
gospel narratives, and to confess that all we have of
Him is a mass of traditional and unreliable recollec
tions ? Have we nothing to say to the theorists who
assert boldly that the Jesus of the gospels is an Ideal
Figure evolved out of a mass of heterogeneous material

drawn from the flotsam of other faiths, and personified
in the corporate imagination of the Early Church ?

On the contrary, the very fact that we can trace so
many of the threads of tradition, each independent of
the other, some of which date back to within a few
years of the alleged events, which are all woven into
the rich gospel picture of Jesus, is in itself a sufficient
disproof of this wild and foolish theory surely the
most incoherent and incredible ever invented by a
group of irresponsible sciolists ! Granted the uncer
tainty of many of the details ; granted that each of the
Synoptic writers was consciously or unconsciously con
trolled in his selection of his material and his way of
handling it by a certain theoretic bias ; granted that
something must be conceded to those critics who would
lessen the miraculous element in the gospels ; even
then more than enough remains of the authentic picture
of Jesus to enable us to recognise Him for what He was,
to feel the very aroma of His presence distilling from
these living and artless pages, to realise the quality
of His personality, to drink in the spirit of His teaching
and influence. The Jesus of criticism is a more credible
figure than the Jesus of traditional faith, because we
are released from the bondage of the letter, and thrown
back on the intuitions of the Spirit. It is possible to
part with some of the details of the gospel narratives
and feel none the less secure of the central fact which
gave those gospels their existence, which created the
Christian Church, and which has been a renewing
power in the lives of the countless millions of believers
in all ages. Nor are we in any way forced to concede
all that the extreme critics claim. Much of their
attitude of dubiety is due not to the pressure of the
evidence or to the lack of evidence, but to naturalistic
preconceptions which force them to minimise the
evidence itself, and to magnify the discrepancies in
the narratives ; and those whose philosophy is of a
more adequate kind are free to form more positive
conclusions.

Nor is this all. It is well to point out that the
Christian Church was not created by the simple story
of Jesus, but by the activity of the Risen One energising
through His Spirit in the hearts of His people, bringing
into its true significance for faith His earthly life,
teaching, death, and resurrection, and transforming
His influence from a moving and fragrant memory
into an inward and renewing power. The existence
of an earthly Jesus, however potent His life, and
quickening His teaching, and exquisitely beautiful the
ideal He revealed in His Person, would never have
produced such results as are seen in history, and which
have continued to this day. It is that same Jesus,
who died and rose again, and who from the Unseen
has been in fellowship with His people throughout
the ages since. So thoroughly was this realised in
the generation which followed His appearance in the
flesh, that the greatest Christian of the time Paul -
seems to have realised but faintly the influence of His
earthly life, being completely possessed by the imme
diate fellowship and power of His Spirit. This con
viction of the continued nearness and grace of the
Risen Christ has never died out of the Church, because
it has never been lost fiom the experience of believers.
It has not been granted to all Christians to realise it
with equal vividness, but it is the normal experience
of those who hold the Christian religion in its integrity ;
without it, indeed, it is impossible to account for the
persistence, the joy, and the victory of faith throughout
the ages. And while it is not legitimate to plead (as
is sometimes done) that this distinctive experience of
Christians proves the literal accuracy of the gospel

16

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM

jtory in all its details, it is still right to say that the
two aspects of the caae mutually support and supple
ment each other. The Jesus of history gives us an
objective content and standard for faith ; the Christ
of experience gives us the spiritual quickening and
atmosphere of faith. Without the history, faith would
lose itself in a vague mysticism, a formless subjec
tivity ; without the mystic presence, we should know
only a Jesus according to the flesh, who might fill us
with admiration and with longing for better things,
but who could not save us from our sins and bring us
to newness of life. In the Fourth Gospel these two
aspects of the Redeemer s activity are brought together
into an idealised but valid picture ; and while we
depend less on it than on the Synoptics for the exact
historical facts and words of Jesus (though there are
solid additional facts and many authentic sayings of
His given us in Jn.) it brings home to us with far greater
emphasis the spiritual significance for faith, and the
immanent power for living, of the Person of our Lord
in His redeeming activity.

XV

We pass on to a brief characterisation of the re
maining portions of the NT writings.

If in the OT we see the lines of revelation gradually
converging to a point of expectancy realised afterwards
in a Person ; in the later books of the NT we see the
radiation of the power of this life through a community
into the world at large. Luke gives us in Ac. a

limitations of His flesh were removed, when from the
unseen world into which He was taken He began to
energise through His Spirit in the life of individual
believers, and of the corporate Church. Hitherto He
had been with His followers in bodily presence ; hence
forth He was to be in them, a quickening spirit. It
was Paul s function to be able to give more or less
adequate expression, in words of living power, to the
operation of this spirit in the heart of a man supremely
sensitive to this heavenly influence, and delicately
responsive to its touch. He is, however, not the only
member of the gifted company who were possessed
by the new faith, to formulate their experience in
written form. In 1 1*. we have another version of
the same experience, from one who had known Jesus
intimately according to the flesh, and who entered
deeply into the power of the risen life (2 P. stands in
a different category). We have still another version in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which we see the same
influence at work from a different angle ; and still
others in the brief but richly-laden epistles of John,
and in the epistles of Judo and James. The last in
the order of books in the NT the Revelation of John
stands by itself as an instance of the copious apocalyptic
literature of the time, but lifted above all its compeers
through the profound experience of the exalted Christ
which breathes through its lurid imagery and exalted
rhapsody. These books are clearly stamped with the
individuality of their writers, which is in no wise
obscured by the common experience which marks
them all as men possessed by the Spirit of Jesus.

substantially historical account of the birth of the They have survived the abundant literary deposits of

community, and of its first activities in the world.
The book divides itself into two parts, the first a
digest of earlier records and traditions from an unknown
source, dealing with the origins of the Christian Church
and of its extension in various directions ; the second
a personal narrative of Paul s missionary journeys by
a companion who was manifestly a competent observer
and vivid retailer of the facts. This writer is identical
with the author of Lk., as is shown by the preface to
both books and by innumerable peculiarities of style
and diction. The earlier chapters contain material
which some critics consider to be the oldest written
portions of the NT, and though the speeches of Peter
and others are probably condensed and edited versions
of the speaker s words, there is every reason to believe
that they are substantially accurate, and faithfully
represent in form and substance the first preaching of
the Gospel. In spite of a few discrepancies between
some of the later portions (e.g. the account of the
apostolic council in Ac. 15) and certain allusions in
Paul s epistles to the same events, the impression
made by his personality in both sources is the same.
When both are studied, Paul stands out before us
with a vividness second only to the figure of Jesus in
the gospels, in a portrait of self-evidencing truth and
power. And to know Jesus and Paul is to be put in
possession of the central personalities through whose
influence historical Christianity took its rise. The
creative force comes from Jesus ; the main condition
ing channel is found in Paul. For whether he literally
knew Jesus in the flesh or not, it is certain that he
entered more deeply into the spiritual significance of
His life and work than any of the men who came into
daily contact with Him during His earthly ministry.

It is from this point of view that we see the trans
cendent importance for the Christian faith, both
historical and experimental, of the Pauline epistles.
They present us with the incipient phase of the second
in the redeeming work of Christ when the

the earliest ages of Christianity because they bear the
fresh and original stamp of that unique Presence on
their pages ; and they speak to us to-day with an
emphasis that never fails, with an inspiration that is
still unspent, of an experience repeated in each genera
tion of believing men and women. The traditional
theory of the authorship and date of some of them is
710 longer generally accepted, but no criticism can
interfere with the function which they are qualified
to fulfil in the lives of those who would know Jesus
in the power of the Spirit and realise in their lives the
energies of His redeeming grace.

The aim of this article is to put the reader of
the following commentary into that attitude of mind
and heart which will best enable him to benefit by its
presentation of the Bible from the modern standpoint.
There are many other aspects of the great Book of
absorbing interest and far-reaching importance that
might be touched on if space permitted such as its
influence on literature, on art, on science, on legislation,
on social and political reform, on home life, in all the
languages and lands into which it has been translated,
and in which it is read. These, however, are secondary
aspects of its function in the world ; the primary is
ever its potency as a fountain of spiritual inspiration,
of religious renewal. As regards this it still stands
alone in literature ; and when once the unavoidable dis
turbance occasioned by the critical movement has died
down, and men s vision has been adjusted to the new
perspectives into which the Book has been arranged,
we can confidently prophesy that in the future, as in
the past, its revelation of God to man, of man to
himself as the subject of a Divine redemption flowing
from the Person and Cross of Christ, will continue to
shine forth with an undimmed and ever-growing lustre.

Literature. Peake, A. S., The Bible, its Origin,
Significance, and Abiding Worth; A Guide to Biblical
Study. Dods, M., The Bible, its Origin and Nature.
Boyd Carpenter, Introduction to the Study of Holy

THE BIBLE: ITS MEANING AND AIM 17

Scripture. Bruce, A. B., The Chief Etui of Revelation. Hicks, E. &., Tl^e Bible Literature in the Light of

Smith, G. A., Modern Criticism and the Preaching of Modern Knowledge. McLachlan, H., The New Testa-

the OT. M Fadyen, J. E., OT Criticism and the ment and Modern Knowledge. Driver and Kirkpatrick,

Christian Church. Kent, C. F., The Origin and Per- The Higher Criticism. Art. ; Bible " in EB, ERE, etc.

manent Value of the OT. Briggs, G. A., General Intro- Von Dobschutz, E., The Influence of the Bible on

duction to the Study of Holy Scripture. Carpenter, J. E., Civilisation. Stoddart, Jane T., The OT in Life and

The Bible in the Nineteenth Century. Ryle, H. E., On Literature; The NT in Life and Literature. Gamble,

Holy Scripture and. Criticism. Moulton, R. G., The J., The Spiritual Sequence of the Bible. Cheync, T. K.,

Modern Reader s Bible ; The Literary Study of the Bible. Aids to the Devout Study of Criticism. Cohu, J. R.,

Swete, H. B., Cambridge Biblical Essays (esp. ch. 16). The OT in the Light of Modern Research. Jordan,

Arnold, M., Literature and Dogma : God and the Bible. W. G., Biblical Criticism and Modern Thought.

Farrar, F. W., The Bible, its Meaning and Supremacy. Blakiston, The Bible of To-day. Selbie, W. B., The

Wood, Joa., What the Bible is and what it is not. Nature and Message of the Bible.

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

BY PROFESSOR W. H. HUDSON

PREOCCUPATION with theological considerations has
too long prevented the English reader from appreci
ating the immense importance of the Bible from the
purely literary side. Yet the Bible is a great body of
literature of value to the student for three reasons.
(1) Because of its intrinsic interest. Except for the
literature of Greece, and the derivative literature of
Rome, the Bible contains the finest literature which has
survived from ancient times. Its contents are, of course,
extremely unequal. Much of it as literature is indifferent
or poor. But its high levels are very high indeed.
Job, for example, is one of tin- world s outstanding
masterpieces ; the Song of Deborah, though the text
is unfortunately imperfect, ranks among the grandest
of triumphal odes ; among the Psalms arc to be found
some of the greatest of all religious lyrics ; while many
passages in the Prophets are unsurpassed for nobility
of thought combined with sublimity of expression. At
its best Hebrew literature is matched only by Greek
among the literatures of antiquity. (2) Because it is
the literature of a unique race. Another unique race,
the Greeks, were endowed beyond all other early
peoples with the intellectual and aesthetic conscious
ness. The Hebrews, beyond all other early peoples,
were endowed with the spiritual consciousness. For
this reason (3) the Bible is one of the two foundation
literatures of the modern western world. Wo are all
familiar with the two streams of influence which have
combined in our culture, and which, in Matthew
Arnold s phraseology, we call Hellenism and Hebraism :
Hellenism representing the. intellectual and u sthetic,
Hebraism the religious and moral sides of such culture.
Historically, the sources of these are to be found, the
one in the literature and art of Greece, the other in the
literature of the Hebrews. The place of Hebrew litera
ture in world-literature is thus apparent. " The Bible
has been an active force in English literature for over
1200 years " (A. S. Cook). An argument often used
to justify the " classics " in education is that acquaint
ance with them is essential to the understanding of
English literature. This argument will apply equally
to the study of the Bible. Hebrew literature has
indeed had practically 110 influence on the form and
technique of our literature, though since the authorised
translation, it has been a moulding force in the style
of many writers. But it has exerted a profound influ
ence over its matter and spirit. One illustration will
suffice to show the importance of the Bible from this
point of view. Paradise Lost is unquestionably the
greatest poem in our language. Now it is rightly said
that we cannot really understand Paradise Lost with
out some knowledge of the Greek and Latin epios on
which it was structurally founded and of the classic
learning upon which it continually draws. But neither
can we understand it without an intimate knowledge
of the Bible, to which its direct indebtedness is at
least as great.

In considering here some aspects of the Bible as
literature, we shall deal mainly with OT as the more
important of its two divisions on the purely literary
side.

Stress must, to begin with, be laid upon the fact that
OT is not a book, but a collection of books. It is a
library of what remains of the literature of the ancient
Hebrew people. It is important to remember that it
contains only what remains of that literature. It is
certainly not a complete collection of Hebrew writings.
The Hebrews were a poetical race ; and we may, there
fore, take it for granted that whatever interested them
deeply in social and domestic life, in times of peace
and war, would find expression in various forms of
verse. They must, like other early peoples, have had
their war songs, national songs, ballads of the great
deeds of popular heroes ; songs of spring, harvest, the
vintage ; marriage songs, dirges for the dead. Many
traces of this miscellaneous poetry are, in fact, to be
found in OT. We know, for instance, that poetry was
made to minister to idleness and luxury (Am. 6-5) and
even to the most ignoble pleasures (Is. 2815). Kefer-
ence is also made to two anthologies, of which other
wise nothing is known the Book of the Wars of the
Lord (Nu. 2114) and the Book of Jashar (Jos. 1013,
! S. 1x8) ; and we may safely assume that other such
collections existed of folk-songs and sagas of the
Hebrew people. With speculations about this lost
literature we have indeed no immediate concern. But
it is essential to bear in mind that the selections which
now represent Hebrew literature were made by men
who cared nothing about purely literary values, but
had the religious welfare of the nation entirely at
heart. What has been preserved, therefore, was pre
served cither on account of its religious and national
significance, or because of its association (real or
imaginary) with certain great names. To this latter
circumstance we owe the survival of sundry pieces of
literature which otherwise would certainly have dis
appeared ; such as the lament of David for Saul and
Jonathan (2 S. 1), which is not a religious poem at all,
but simply a very fine personal elegy ; the Song of
Songs, a collection of love lyrics, which luckily got
the name of Solomon, and was presently allegorised ;
and Ecclesiastes, which is strikingly out of harmony
with the general spirit of Hebrew literature, and also
owes its place in the Canon a place which it has kept
with difficulty (pp. 38f.) to its traditional ascription
to the much-experienced king.

Taking this surviving literature as it stands, we are,
of course, impressed by its general unity of aim and
spirit ; its component parts broadly resemble one
another in so many ways in which they differ from
all other literatures. This is precisely what we should
expect, since OT is a body of national literature. But
what do we mean by a national literature ? The
present writer has elsewhere answered this question :

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

19

" A nation s literature is not a miscellaneous collection
of books which happen to have been written in the
same tongue, or within a given geographical area. It
is the progressive revelation, age by age, of such
nation s mind and character. An individual writer
may vary very greatly from the national type. . . .
But his genius will still partake of the characteristic
spirit of his race, and in any number of representative
writers at any given time that spirit will be felt as a
well-defined quality pervading them all. We talk of
the Greek spirit and the Hebrew spirit. By this we
do not, of course, suggest that all Greeks thought and
felt in the same way, that all Hebrews thought and
felt in the same way. We simply mean that, when all
differences as between man and man have been can
celled, there remains in each case a clearly recognised
substratum of racial character, a certain broad element
common to all Greeks as Greeks and to all Hebrews as
Hebrews " ( Introduction to the Study of Literature,
p. 40). Two points brought out in this passage have
to be Emphasized. As a national literature, Hebrew
literature is the expression of fundamental and per
manent racial qualities ; and since its production
extended over a long period of time, it contains a
progressive revelation of the Hebrew mind and char
acter. This latter consideration will serve to remind
us that, studied historically, Hebrew literature enables
us to follow the development of Hebrew ideas ; as,
e.g. the evolution of the idea of God out of the crude
conceptions preserved in early legends into the fine
ethical monotheism of the prophets of the eighth and
seventh centuries. This historic aspect of Hebrew
literature is, however, too large a subject to be dealt
with here. The reader will be able to study it for
himself with the help provided by other articles in
this volume. We must confine our attention to the
broad interest of Hebrew literature as the expression
of the mind and character of the Hebrew people.

This is not indeed the place to attempt any detailed
analysis of their racial psychology, but a few of their
most salient qualities may be indicated. (1) The
Hebrews were an Oriental people, and, like all Oriental
peoples, they were hot-blooded, passionate, and intense.
What they felt, they felt strongly. They were often
swept away by their emotions. Their confidence and
their despair alike went to extremes. They were
capable of the deepest piety, love, and zeal. But they
were capable too of deep malevolence, and, like Shylock,
they were good haters. Recognition of this is import
ant in our study of Hebrew poetry in particular, in
which moods and passions are expressed with an un
restraint and vehemence which were perfectly natural
to the writers, but which to us, of a different blood
and training, often seem violent and extravagant.
(2) Immense pride of race was another fundamental
characteristic. The Hebrew has been called a mag
nificent egotist. But his was not personal, but racial
egotism. One of his dominant thoughts was that he
belonged to the Chosen People, and the past and future
of his nation were a consuming passion with him.
This racial pride was intimately bound up with (3) his
devotion to Yahweh. He had an abiding sense of the
living God. That God for him was no abstraction
but a concrete reality. We think of his conception of
God as anthropomorphic, and so it was. But the
essential thing to remember is not the philosophic
limitation of the Hebrew s thought but his profound
realisation of God as personal ruler and judge.

Yet while Hebrew literature has the unity of its
racial qualities, it has also great diversity. As the
most casual examination shows. OT is composed of

books written at different times, in different circum
stances, in different forms, and by writers of very
different aims and spirit. Though our ordinary way of
treating the Bible as one and indivisible makes it
difficult for us to realise this diversity, full appreciation
of it is a preliminary condition to the study of OT as
literature. And this brings us to another fact, of
significance from our present point of view. Though
every great body of national literature has its distinc
tive features, yet in a broad way all literatures have
much in common, because they are born of the same
human impulses and deal (with marked variations of
selection and emphasis, of course) with subjects of
interest to men everywhere and at all times. Hence,
as we should expect, OT presents many of the familiar
types of literary expression which we may compare
with the same types in other literatures ; as, e.g. narra
tive literature in the forms of history, biography, and
story ; lyrical poetry, chiefly of a religious kind ;
didactic literature (Pr.) ; the literature of reflection
and speculation (Ee., Job) ; the literature of oratory
(orations of Moses) ; the literature of exhortation and
appeal (Prophets) ; and, in addition, a vast body of
writing dealing with legislation, ritual, and cere
monial, which does not come under the head of general
literature any more, let us say, than Blackstone s
Commentaries. Of these types one only stands out
as in any way exceptional, and that is prophetic
literature, which we are apt to think of as entirely
Biblical, and which is indeed, from the literary side,
the distinctive product of Hebrew genius, as satire
was of Roman genius. Yet even prophetic literature
is not without its modern counterparts. This is
apparent when we remember that prophecy is not to
be narrowly confused with prediction, which was indeed
but a small and by no means essential element in it.
Prophecy was really the utterance of God s will
through the mouth of one inspired for the purpose,
the prophet being the spokesman of the Lord (Ex. 7i,
cf. Am. 87). The function of the prophets, broadly
viewed, was spiritual leadership the proclamation of
the higher spiritual realities to a generation blind and
deaf to them. What is peculiar in prophetic literature
is that it presents itself as the medium of a direct
Divine message. (" Thus saith the Lord " ; " The
word of the Lord came unto Zephaniah," etc.) But,
apart from this, we may find many close analogies to
prophetic literature not only in the sermon of the
modern Church, but also in the more general literature
of denunciation and appeal. In this large sense the
race of the prophets has never been extinct. Carlyle,
for example, is often described as a Hebrew prophet
born into the nineteenth century, and the phrase, far
from being merely rhetorical, points to an essential
kinship between our great modern preacher of righte
ousness and such a man as, e.g. Hosea. Like the
Hebrew prophets, too, Carlyle dealt freely with social,
economic, and political, no less than with religious
and moral questions. It will help us greatly to
humanise the prophets and to bring their message and
its meaning home to us, if we think of them in this
way. An interesting detail may be added. There has
always been and always will be a certain inevitable
antagonism between men of the highly spiritual and
mystical type (like the prophets and Carlyle) and men
of the scientific and rationalistic type. We recall in
illustration Carlyle s attacks upon Mill, Darwin, and
the scientific spirit generally. It is much to the point,
then, to remember that such conflict already existed
in ancient Israel ; for the prophets wore markedly
unfavourable to the Wise Men the " Humanists "of

20

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

Israel ; the representatives, so far as it existed, of the
rationalistic spirit (Is. 29i4, Jer. 89, 023).

But OT literature shows the limitations as well as
the positive qualities of the Hebrew genius. With all
their great gifts, the Hebrews were singularly lacking
in disinterested intellectual curiosity in the love of
knowledge for its own sake. Hence philosophy as we
understand it, and as it was understood by the Greeks,
had no existence among them : their nearest approach
to philosophic literature being in the " Wisdom " books.
A more serious gap is left by the absence of drama,
perhaps the greatest of all literary forms, at any rate
the form in which some of the world s greatest work
has been done, in both ancient and modern times.
The genius of the Hebrew was essentially subjective,
not creative. Hence there is nothing in OT literature
to compare with Sophocles or Shakespeare. Such
dramatic power as the Hebrews possessed must be
sought in other directions : in narrative, in passages
in the prophets (see later), and especially in Job. The
last-named is indeed often regarded aa fundamentally
a drama. But even hero religious speculation takes
the place of plot interest, while the characterisation is
slight ; the friends of Job not being sharply individual
ised, and a marked lack of consistency existing between
the Job of the Prologue and the Job of the Colloquies.

A few of the principal types of OT literature may
now be considered. Wo will begin with narrative.

We need not be surprised that so much of OT
(roughly, one half) consists of narrative. All early
peoples, as soon as they come to national self-conscious
ness, begin to collect chronicles of their wars, of im
portant events in their history, of the doings of their
great historic and legendary heroes. Now with the
early Hebrews national self-consciousness was very
strong, and naturally, therefore, they oiler no exception
to the general rule. Hence the large amount of history
and since all early history is written largely with an
eye to the " great man " of biography in their litera
ture. All early peoples, moreover, love a story, and
the love of a story has always been especially strong
in the East, the great home of the story-teller. As an
early Oriental people, the Hebrews were again no
exception to the general rule. Hence the prominence
of the story in their literature. Much of their story
literature (often with difficulty distinguished from
biography) is embedded in their historical writings ;
for Israel s historians, like other early historians, were
accustomed to connect important events with the
names of their national heroes. Thus, e.g. we have
the tribal tales which became attached to the names
of the patriarchs the Abraham cycle (Gen. 12-24) ;
the Isaac cycle (Gen. 21-24) ; the Jacob cycle (Gen. 27-
33, 47), etc. ; heroic legends, like that of Samson ; and
stories more or less closely bound up with their his
torical context, suchas the story of Balaam (Nu. 22-24) ;
of Gideon (Jg. 6-8) ; of Jephthah and his daughter
(Jg. 11). But such narrative literature is also repre
sented by three regular story-books, " rare survivors
of a larger literature of this kind" (Moore) Esther,
Ruth, and Jonah. To these have to be added Judith
and Tobit among the Apocrypha.

Dealing first with history, we have to notice a form
of this kind of narrative writing which, strictly speak
ing, cannot be classed as literature at all in the
chronicles which were meant merely for record and the
preservation of noteworthy events. Such official annals
were habitually as brief and bald as those kept for
the same purpose in the monasteries of the Middle
Ages. Two secretaries are mentioned among the
officials of Solomon s court (1 K. 4s), whose duty was

in part that of chroniclers. Such official records were,
however, useful as sources for later writers (1 K. 1141,
1429, 2 K. 2020). For an illustration of this kind of
chronicle writing we may turn to 1 Ch. 1-9, which
contains a series of genealogies beginning with patri
archal times, notices respecting the families, history,
and military strength of the several tribes, and a list
of the principal families residing in Jerusalem after the
Exile. Similarly we have a list of the families which
returned to Jerusalem in Neh. 7, and of the inhabitants
of Jerusalem and other settlements, and of priests and
Levites, in 11 and 12. Such lists were of great interest
at the time, especially those which enabled the inhabi
tants of different localities to trace their pedigrees
back to remote days. But mere records like these, of
course, have no title to be treated as literary art.

An important stage in the evolution of real history
out of such dry annalistic materials is marked by
Kings, which, though regular narrative, is still rela
tively formal and brief. This is brought out by com
parison with Samuel. Kings covers nearly 400 years ;
Samuel in about the same space little more than a
single lifetime.

The fully developed history of the Hebrews can bo
studied to great advantage in Samuel ; as, e.g., in the
whole story of David. Judged simply as narrative
as we should judge Herodotus this is an excellent,
and in places even brilliant, example of early literary
art. Rapid, vivid, engrossing, at times it rises to real
dramatic power in the handling of a critical situation,
while its characterisation (as, e.g., in Absalom and
Adonijah) is given in bold, clear outlines. Even
Herodotus, the father of history, never wrote anything
better. Yet, like Herodotus, and unlike our modern
historians, this Hebrew writer keeps throughout to a
plain, direct, and simple style of composition. His
facts are set down, his story is told in a way to exhibit
their meaning, but there is little elaboration of detail
or psychological analysis. An interesting comparison
is naturally suggested here, which will help to show the
difference between ancient and modern methods in
dealing with the same theme : Browning s long and
intricate Saul, with all its subtleties of interpretation
and exhaustive dissection of mental states, is built up
on the slender foundations furnished by 1 S. 1614-23.

It will bo noted that in Hebrew history the common
practice is adopted of blending dialogue with narrative,
to the great gain of the whole ; for dialogue always
adds life to tho characters and realism to the story.
Good examples are provided by the interview between
David and Saul, before the former goes out to fight
Goliath (1 S. 1732-39), and the verbal passage of arms
between the two champions before the combat (43-
48). Such interchange of defiance closely resemblea
similar preludes to single combats between representa
tive champions of many times and countries (cf. e.g..
Arnold s tiohmb and Rustum). Also, like the his
torians of Greece and Rome, the Hebrew writers put
speeches into the mouths of their chief characters on
important occasions. Thus we have the orations of
Moses (Dt. 5-26, 27f ., 292, 31;) ; the valedictions of
Moses (Dt. 33), of Jacob (Gen. 492-27), of Joshua
(Jos. 23), of Samuel (1 S. 12); Samuel s sermons
(1 S. 8, 12) ; Nathan s address to David (2 S. 7) ;
Ahijah s warnings (1 K. 11, 14) ; the prayer of Solomon
at the dedication of the Temple (1 K. 812). In
numerable further examples of such speeches will be
found in Ch., Ezr., and Neh. And, as with the Greek
and Roman historians, such intercalated speeches are
often composed or edited from the point of view of
the writer and his time, and are, in fact, designed as

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

21

commentaries upon the historical narrative. Thus
Solomon s prayer is the expression of ideas which did
not take shape in Israel till three hundred years after
Solomon s death. Under this same head we may in
clude some of the cases in which God is introduced as
actually talking with men. Many of these are, of
course, only older legends preserved by later writers ;
but the device is also used by the historian to bring
out and emphasize the Divine meaning which he wishes
his narrative to convey : as, e.g., in the account of the
covenant of God with Abraham (Gen. 17), and of the
commission to Moses (Ex. 62-13)

This carries us from the methods to the purposes of
Hebrew history. In general terms it may be said that
nearly all Hebrew history was written with a didactic
intention and with a direct relation to national religion
or institutions. Sometimes it is used as a sort of
framework for the Mosaic legislation, as in Numbers
and Deuteronomy. Sometimes it is employed to ex
plain the institutions of Israel by connecting them
witli great events or persons. Thus the institution of
the Sabbath is explained (Gen. 23, Ex. 20n); the
establishment of the Passover (Ex. 12) ; the founda
tion of the Mosaic law in the Decalogue (Ex. IQsff.,
Dt. 52ff.). This is a very common practice with early
peoples. JSschylus, for example, in his Libation
Bearers, assigns a Divine origin to the great court of
the Areopagus, by exhibiting its foundation by Pallas
Athene for the trial of Orestes.

But the most important thing to remember is, that
the great underlying purpose of Hebrew history is to
provide a religious philosophy teaching by examples.
The larger part of Hebrew history is indeed written
expressly to illustrate and enforce the truths enunciated
by Hosea in the eighth century and Jeremiah in the
seventh. The central thought of this philosophy was,
that so long as God s people remained faithful to their
covenant with Him, all was well with them ; but that
whenever they were faithless to that covenant and
forsook Him for false gods, then God sent evil upon
them as a punishment for their sin. The numerous
calamities of Israel were thus interpreted as the direct
consequences of national apostacy and wrongdoing
(cf. Hosea s oracle, 22-23, and Jer. 2). Judges and
Kings are written as a running commentary upon this
doctrine, and examination will show how the writers
dwell upon every incident which will serve to support
their thesis. The didactic purpose is indeed the de
termining factor in their work ; it is evident that they
think a great deal more of the religious lesson of a
given incident than of the incident itself. Thus in
2 K. 17, the fall of Samaria is very briefly described
(1-6), but a long moral gloss is appended (7-41). In
Chronicles this reading of history becomes harder and
narrower, and in such cases as Asa and the gout and
Uzziah and the leprosy it is individualised. This re
minds us that the root idea of the Hebrew philosophy
of history had by this time become also the root idea
of Hebrew personal ethics. For the Hebrew thinker,
God was good, and must, therefore, govern the world
in the interests of the good man. When widening
observation and experience shook the confidence of
the Hebrew in this simple syllogism, a good deal of
disturbance in thought followed, and the sceptical note
found its way into Hebrew literature. This may be
seen in some of the Psalms, especially the " Asaph "
Psalms (e.g. 73), in Ecclesiastes, and in Job, which
was indeed written to challenge this narrow and over-
facile orthodox view.

Of course this philosophy of history was made pos
sible only by the intense feeling of the Hebrews regard

ing the reality of God and His law, and by the fact
that, tracing everything directly to Him, they entirely
ignored all secondary causes and effects. Yet sub
stantially the same philosophy appears, under a some
what different phraseology, in recent literature in the
writings of Carlyle : evidence of the profound influence
of OT upon one of the greatest moral writers of
modern times.

For reasons stated, it is very difficult for the student
of Hebrew literature to detacli biography from tho
historical narrative in which it is embedded. For the
Hebrew writer, the personal element in fact furnished
the backbone of his subject. " Remove from the his
torical books tho biographies of Samuel, Saul, David,
Solomon, Jeroboam, Ahab, Elijah, Elisha, Jehu,
Hezekiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, and Ezra, and
little besides bare statistics and the record of three or
four important events in the history of the people
remains " (Kent, Israel s Historical and Biographical
Narratives, p. 5). Tho biographies, however, so branch
out into history and get entangled with it that most of
them might be fittingly entitled (in tho formula often
used by modern writers) " The Life and Times of "
So-and-So. We have an excellent example in " The
Life and Times of Samuel "(IS. 1-12, 16, 28). The
stories of Elijah (1 K. 17-19, 2 K. 1, 2) may be treated
as together forming a biography of one of the most
striking and picturesque figures in OT, and this again
is bound up with history. Nehemiah is in part com
posed of what to-day we should describe as Personal
Memoirs.

With regard to the manner and style of these his
torical and biographical narratives, it is evident that
we must distinguish broadly between the earlier narra
tives and those of the later priestly writers. We are
often able to compare the two in parallel accounts of
the same events, as, e.g., the two records of the creation
in Gen. li-24a and 24^-25. The latter of these is the
earlier prophetic narrative, and analysis will show that
it is concrete, homely, realistic ; the former is the
later priestly version, and in comparison is abstract,
formal, solemn, stately. Such are the general differ
ences between the two classes of writing throughout,
as again, e.g., in the two accounts of the promise to
Abraham (of which that in Gen. 18 is the early pro
phetic, that in 17 tho later priestly). Almost all the
earlier stories represent, of course, the more primitive
stages of thought, but in these we have the finest
examples of early narrative rapid, naive, vivid. The
account of the appearance of Yahweh to Abraham may
bo cited as an admirable illustration. Nothing could
be simpler, and at the same time nothing could bo
more picturesque, than the description of the patriarch
sitting at his tent door in the heat of tho day ; of
the appearance of the three strangers whom he hastens
forward to greet ; of the hospitality which ho extends
towards them. It is the perfection of absolute sim
plicity in story-telling ; the thing is done with a few
broad strokes and without the slightest elaboration of
detail ; but it is so done that its appeal to the imagina
tion is irresistible. It is the same kind of picturesque
simplicity that so often delights us in Homer ; as in
the famous scene in the 9th Iliad, in which Achilles
and Patroklos entertain the heralds from Agamemnon.

The story of Rebecca at the well, of Jacob and Esau,
of Jephthah, of Samson, of David and Saul, of Elisha,
of Naaman, of Gehazi, may bo mentioned as further
illustrations of this earlier type of narrative, for though
some of these are, of course, much more highly elabo
rated than others, they all belong to the same general
class. As examples of the priestly style, with its

22

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

bare and unimaginative handling of its materials, its
greater solemnity, and its marked tendency towards
abstraction, we may cite God s covenant with Noah
(read side by side, the two flood stories will be found
to disclose all the differences in style of which I have
spoken) ; Abraham s purchase of a family burying-
placo (Gen. 23) ; and the commission to Moses in
Ex. 6 (which should be compared with the variant
account in 3f.).

The student is advised to make a careful analysis of
one of the greater OT narratives, such as the wonderful
story of Joseph, and he will find that the literary
characteristics of Hebrew narrative are those of early
narrative art in general. Plainness, directness, and
simplicity are the outstanding features. There is no
unnecessary elaboration of the materials, yet in really
great scenes (like the recognition scene between Joseph
and his brothers) the dramatic power exhibited is of
a very high and fine quality. The characters are por
trayed in bold and broad outlines, and generally
through what they say and do ; minute psychological
analysis (such as we got in modern fiction) being con
spicuously absent, as in all early narrative writing.
And, as in all early narrative writing, there is little
description ; the setting and background of an action
may bo suggested, but there is no introduction of
scenery for its own sake, and none of the landscape-
painting and the local colouring which are so prominent
in modern literary art.

The great value of this early kind of story-telling as
a permanent school of taste should be clearly under
stood. Our own literature is commonly marked by
immense complexity ; our taste has grown sophisti
cated, and wo are in danger of losing all appreciation
of simplicity. This is one of Tolstoi s main conten
tions in his What is Art ? Taking the story of Joseph
as an example, ho insists that here we have all the
fundamentals of a story, and that as a story it is all
the better because it is not encumbered by those
masses of detail of description, analysis, commen
tary which, ho argues, destroy instead of helping the
effect of modern narratives. He points out that we
have no description of Joseph s home, of his tunic, or
of the person or toilette of Potiphar s wife ; and he
maintains that the absence of these things is an
advantage, since nothing unimportant is interposed
between the really human elements in the drama and
the reader s imagination and sympathies. And then
he contrasts modern fiction, in which we have to dis
engage the really human elements from the mass of
non-essential accessories with which they are burdened.
We are not bound, of course, to accept Tolstoi s chief
contention that our modern art is all wrong, and that
this early kind of art is alone right. Such a view
would be reactionary, and would condemn some of the
greatest things in modern literature, including Tolstoi s
own masterpiece, Anna Karenina. But to keep our
taste unspoilt the discipline of the older and simpler
kinds of art is indispensable. For this reason, the
modern reader is often advised, very judiciously, to
turn back from time to time to his Iliad and his
Odyssey. But, after all, he is not obliged to go to
Homer. Ho will find ample material for his purpose
in the story literature of OT.

We pass on to Hebrew narrative literature, as repre
sented in those OT story-books which survive out of a
much larger literature of the same kind, and which
" suffice to give us a notion of the popular reading of the
Jews in the last centuries before the Christian era "
(Moore, 134f .). These books are dealt with in detail in
the commentaries on them, and one of them Jonah

need not detain us here. Confining our attention to the
purely literary aspects of the other two, we have speci
ally to note that while Ruth and Esther are both marked
by those common characteristics which, as we have seen,
distinguish early story-telling from modern, yet the
differences between them are such as to make them
extremely interesting for comparative study. That
they differ in matter and spirit is, of course, obvious ;
the one is a pastoral idyl, the other a brilliant romance
of court intrigue ; the one is filled with the tcndcrest
humanity, the other overflows with the most ferocious
spirit of national hatred and bigotry. But what con
cerns the literary student more than this is, that whether
or not actually the later of the two in date, Esther
represents a much later stage in the evolution of story-
writing as an art. It is indeed by far the most
advanced example of narrative to be found in OT.
Contrast its opening with that of Ruth, and the highly-
developed character of its technique will at once be
apparent. In Ruth all the preliminary matter is put
into a short paragraph, and the method is the old,
simple, direct method of the child s story " Once upon
a time there was a man named so-and-so " and so on.
In Esther the introduction is long, elaborate, and
skilful. There is a full description (and the amplifica
tion of the descriptive element should be noted) of
the great feast given by Ahasuerus, which is clearly
designed to bring out, as it does bring out most vividly,
the power and magnificence of the king and the Oriental
splendour of his court. Such difference in handling
will be found throughout. In Ruth, again, the char-
actor-drawing is quite broad and simple. In Esther
as notably in the finely contrasted studies of Haman
and Mordecai there is much of the subtlety of modern
work. In Ruth the story moves forward with an art-
lessness which, for the reader of to-day, is one of its
chief charms ; the scene of the gleaning and the inci
dent of Ruth lying at Boaz s feot being described with
out effort on the writer s part, and left to make their own
impression. (The reader may compare Victor Hugo s
expansion of the latter incident in his Booz Endormi.)
In Esther, a complicated plot is managed with con
summate skill and an extraordinary sense of dramatic
values. Evident throughout, this is especially so in
the account of Haman s downfall. There is dramatic
irony as fine as any to be found in Greek tragedy in
the interview between Haman and the king after the
king s sleepless night, while the hanging of Haman on
the very gallows which he had prepared for his enemy
is a tremendously effective stroke.

Before leaving narrative, we must note the curious
fact that surviving Hebrew literature furnishes no
example of the epic, or long tale in verse. Wo call
this curious because in most literatures the epic is the
first form of extended narrative composition ; and it
is the more curious because the epic existed in Baby
lonian literature, to which the Hebrews were much
indebted. But though we have no true epic in OT, we
have what R. G. Moulton has called the " mixed epic,"
in which the narrative proper is in prose, but which,
in places when the emotional element becomes strong,
rises into verse. The groat example of this is the
story of Balaam (Nu. 22-24). Such combination of
prose and verse is rare in modern non-dramatic
literature, but it is to be found in mediseval " cante-
fables," and in the exquisite thirteenth century French
story, Aucassin et Nicolette, while William Morria
adopted it with a measure of success in his romance,
The House of the Wolfings.

We turn next to Hebrew J>oetry.j As a rule, when
poetry has to be studied in translation, questions of

THE BIBLE AS LITEEATURE

form can hardly be considered with profit. It happens,
however, that there ia one fundamental feature of
lebrew versification which can be preserved in trans
lation and therefore concerns the English reader. It
is that known as parallelism, or the symmetry or
balance between clause and clause, in thought or ex
pression, or in both. For the student of the Bible as
literature, this is a most important subject.

The three principal varieties of parallelism are :

(1) Synonymous (the most common of all), in which
the second line reinforces the first by repeating the
thought in a somewhat different expression, or rounds
it off by the introduction of a parallel idea :

In Judah is God known,
His name is great in Israel."

" Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon,
And thou, Moon, upon the valley of Aijaloii."

(2) Antithetic (the opposite of synonymous), in
which the second line completes the first by intro
ducing a statement in contrast with it :

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous,

But the way of the wicked shall perish."
Gnomic sayings fall naturally in such antithetic form ;
hence this type of parallelism abounds in Pr. (espe
cially ch. 10-15).

(3) Constructive, in which the two lines or clauses
are not related by repetition or contrast, but one com
pletes the other in various more subtle ways :

(a) By introducing a comparison :

" Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,
Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

(b) Or an illustration or emblem (this subdivision
is sometimes called emblematic parallelism) :

" A word fitly spoken

Is like apples of gold in baskets of silver."
In this case the emblem may come first :
" As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
So is good news from a far country."

(c) Or the second line may provide the reason or
consequence, or motive of the statement contained in
the first :

Bow down thine ear, Lord, and answer me,
For I am poor and in misery."

" Answer not a fool according to his folly,
Lest thou also be like unto him."

A fourth and much rarer kind of parallelism must
be added to these the climactic or ascending. In
this the first lino by itself is incomplete, while the
second line catches up its unfinished idea and com
pletes it :

" The floods have lifted up, Lord,

The floods have lifted up their voice."
" For lo, thine enemies, Lord,

For lo, thine enemies shall perish."
This kind of parallelism is generally found only in
the most elevated poetry, in which it is exceedingly
effective. J

It should be noted that the aesthetic effect produced
by parallelism, with its response of line to line, is not
unlike that of modern rime ; indeed, Renan has called
parallelism " the rime of thought."

In the foregoing illustrations couplets only have
been used. But parallelism may extend through larger
groups of hues which, by analogy with modern systems

23

of verse, wo may call stanzas. We therefore find
triplets and quatrains variously arranged according to
the relations of the lines one to another. Thus, e.g.,
wo may have a synonymous triplet :

" That walketh not in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners.
Nor sitteth in the seat of tho scornful : "

or a triplet in which the first two lines are synonymous,
and together form an emblematic parallelism with the
third :

" As one that taketh off a garment in cold weather,

And as vinegar upon nitre,

So is he that singeth songs with a heavy heart."
Or the second line may be united with tho first by
constructive parallelism, and tho third to the second
by synonymous parallelism :

" Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God,

For thou hast smitten all "my enemies upon the
cheek bone,

Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked."
And so on, and so on, through innumerable combina
tions. In the same way the quatrain may exhibit
various kinds of construction. The four lines may be
resolved by analysis into two closely-connected
couplets :

" If I whet my glittering sword,
And my hand take hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to mine adversaries,
And will recompense them that hate me."

Or we may have alternate parallelism, like the alter
nate rimes of an English quatrain (abab) :

" Except the Lord build the house

Thejr labour in vain that build it ;
Except the Lord keep the city

The watchman waketh but in vain."

Or an inverted quatrain, like the stanza of In Memo-
riam (abba) :

" Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to thy loving kindness ;
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies
Blot out my transgression."

The foregoing must suffice as a brief introduction
to a largo subject, into the intricacies of which limita
tions of space forbid us here to enter. The student
of tho Bible as literature should, however, pursue it
further for himself, for he will find that a thorough
grasp of the principles of parallelism will greatly in
crease his enjoyment of Hebrew poetry on the aesthetic
side.

Poems are made up of such groups of lines in various
parallelistio relations. Sometimes a poem may be
completely regular in structure, i.e. composed of a
succession of similar groups; like Ps. 114, which is
made up of uniform synonymous couplets. Some
times, it may be fairly regular though not completely
so (Ps. 29). Sometimes, as in. Ps. 1, it may be quite
irregular in formation. But Driver points out that
the finest and most perfect specimens of Hebrew poetry
are, as a rule, those in which the parallelism is most
regular : synonymous distiches and quatrains boin<*
varied by occasional triplets (Job 28, 31, 38, 39 ; Ps. 18
29, 104; Pr. 8i2fi.). It should be added that the
line between prose and verse was far less hard and
formal in Hebrew than in modern literatures, and the
transition from one to tho other was, therefore, easy
and natural. We have noted this in the case of the

24

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

" mixed epic." So the narrative writers in general
habitually adopted the parallelistic structure of verse
for oracles, benedictions, farewells, and even orations.
In general quality Hebrew poetry exhibits to the
full those racial characteristics of which we have
already spoken. It is the poetry of a hot-blooded,
Eastern people, who gave themselves up entirely to
the emotion of the moment, and poured forth their
feelings in songs of contrition, supplication, hope,
despair, sorrow, doubt, faith, devotion, passionate love
of God, ferocious hatred of thoir enemies. Hence their
frequent extravagance of expression ; as when in his
excitement the poet describes the mountains as skipping
like rams and the hills like the young of a flock.
Oriental intensity of expression will be noted in another
way in various places in the love poetry of the Song
of Songs. The English reader must be careful to keep
these features in mind, for recognition of them is
essential to a proper understanding of Hebrew poetry
as literature.

The various poetic books of OT are dealt with in
separate commentaries to which the reader is referred
for details. There is one matter of general interest,
however, which may properly bo considered here the
treatment of nature in Hebrew poetry (pp. 12f.. :!< > .).
The Hebrews were an agricultural and pastoral people ;
their occupations brought them into constant contact
with the changing phenomena of the seasons ; it was
inevitable, therefore, that images and motives from
nature should be prominent in their poetry. Now there
are two questions which have to be put in regard to any
body of nature-poetry : first, how does the poet see
and describe nature ? faithfully and concretely, like
Wordsworth and Tennyson ? or conventionally and
at second hand, like Pope ? And then, how does ho
feel about nature ? what emotional response does it
awaken in him ? These questions arc easy to answer
in respect of Hebrew poetry. It is a simple, direct,
and faithful rendering of what the poet has actually
seen ; and the emotion which the contemplation of
nature elicits is almost always a religious emotion.
There is in Hebrew literature no poetry of nature for
its own sake, such as we find so often in modern
literature. Nature is always related to man on the
one side and to God on the other. On the human side,
the thought is often of the fertility of the earth and
its utility to man (very characteristic of an agricultural
and pastoral people) ; though this is habitually con
ceived as a manifestation of the goodness and bounty
of God (Pa. 609-13). On the religious side, the central
idea is the entire and immediate dependence of all
things upon God, who created and sustains them.
There is no thought of nature apart from God, and, of
course, no thought of nature in antagonism to God,
such as we find in Tennyson s In Memoriam. More
over, God is outside nature, never within it ; the con
ception of Divine Immanence, which Wordsworth so
often expresses (e.g. Line-* above Tinier ti Abbey] being
wholly foreign to Hebrew religious ideas. Nature for
the Hebrew poet was thus never a living thing, still
less a spiritual thing ; no Hebrew poet could have
written with Wordsworth that " Nature never did
betray the heart that loved her." Thus Hebrew nature-
poetry provides one more illustration of the compre
hensive anthropomorphic theism of the Hebrew, for
whom everything began with God and ended with
Him. All these qualities the fine fidelity, the human
reference, and the religious interpretation may be
studied, e.g., in the magnificent song of creation,
Ps. 104. It is important to remember that this is a
poetical rendering and amplification of the account of

the creation given by the priestly writer in Gen. 1.
But whereas the priestly writer regarded the work of
creation as finished, the poet, with finer instinct, treats
it as an eternal process, symbolised as it were by the
everlasting succession of the seasons.

Didactic literature next demands our attention.
This includes those very interesting " Wisdom " books
which, with their observations and reflections on life
and their rules for its proper guidance, constitute, as
has been said, the nearest approach in Hebrew litera
ture to what we call philosophy. These books are
fully analysed in separate commentaries, and it is with
their gene ral literary characteristics only that we are
now concerned. One of these in particular has to be
emphasized their comparative formlessness. The
Hebrews had little power of sustained or coherent
thought, and little sense of that orderly arrangement
of ideas which Greek and modern writers have led us
to expect in the literature of reflection. Hence, with
the exception of Job (which, as compared with other
surviving Hebrew literature, is remarkably systematic),
these "Wisdom" books are scarcely more than mis
cellanies. Proverbs is largely composed of isolated
sayings and epigrams, and even the more extended
passages have slight order or interconnexion. (Com
parison will show that the apocryphal Ecclosiasticus
exhibits a marked development in this respect ; the
materials arc sometimes grouped according to sub
jects, and there is more sequence and elaboration of
thought.) In Ecclesiastes we have a congeries of de
tached reflections, observations, impressions, anecdotes,
not unified into a body of doctrine, and not always
even harmonised. Yet within these books we can
recognise th<, rudimentary form, or crude beginnings,
of an important literary type the essay. The evolu
tion of the essay can be seen in Proverbs, whore, from
time to time, we come upon clusters of aphorisms
dealing with the same topic (e.g. 263-12,13-16,17-26),
and a stage in advance of these passages concerned
with some particular theme (e.g. out of many, 4i-9,
10-19,20-27, 66-n). Literary evolution is still more
apparent in Ecclesiastes, which breaks up under
analysis into five essays (Moulton), though miscellane
ous sayings are interspersed: li2-2, 3-48, 5io-6i2,
?23-9i6, 117-127. Of the suggestion in Job of another
literary form the drama I have already spoken.

Finally, hi ouy survey of OT literature, we come to
the literature of prophecy. The place and significance
of prophecy andlts relation to history and theology lie
outside the scope of this article (pp. 69-78, 85-93, 426-
430). Again we have to consider literary characteristica
only, and even of these it is difficult to speak in brief,
because prophetic literature is marked by extreme
complexity of composition. While its essential feature
is that the prophet writes in a state of ecstasy and as
the Divinely commissioned interpreter of God s will
(note passages in which such commission is set forth,
e.g. Ezek. 2-3i), his utterances assume many forms.
Sometimes it is Yahweh Himself who speaks (Hos.
11 1-4). More often the prophet delivers the message
in his own person. H s discourse often takes the shape
of direct exhortation and appeal, and may thus be
likened (as I have suggested) to the modern sermon.
Often he indulges in denunciation of the wickedness
either of his own people or of other nations, and then
we may roughly compare his work with the Philippics
of Demosthenes and Cicero and the satires of Latin and
later writers. Occasionally we have regular dramatic
dialogues (Is. 63i-6, Jer. 14-17, Mi. 6f., Hab. If.). A
strongly dramatic element is often introduced in other
ways (Is. 403fL, 49, 63, etc.). Events are frequently

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

25

described in vivid pictures (Is. 527lr., Jer. 5ic 19).
Personal and historical narratives arc sometimes in
corporated with prophecy (Jcr. 26-29, 34-43 ; Am. 1
1017, Hag.). Abundant use is mado of parable
(Jer. 13i2-i4, 24; Is. 61-7; Ezok. 2*1-14), and of
allegory andsymbolism (Ezek. 4, 5, 15-17, 19, 23, 27, 31,
Hos. 1-22, 3; Zech. 114-14). Visions are, of course,
innumerable (Is. 6, 41, 43 ; Ezek. 14-28, 3-2-27, 37,
Am. 7-9, Zech. 1-6, etc.), and among these it is scarcely
necessary to say we include the beautiful pictures of
the peace and blessing of the coming Messianic reign,
which are too frequent and familiar to call for more
specific remark. The purely poetic element is also
very strong in many of the prophets, notably in Isaiah,
one of Israel s greatest poets, and a master of the
" grand stylo," and in Nahum. Attention must,
therefore, be paid to such poetic qualities as use of
nature, imagery, vividness, picturesqueness, and force
and beauty of diction. At times lyric poems are
introduced, e.g., the thanksgiving songs for Israel s
deliverance in Is. 14, 25f . ; and the noble odo in
Hab. 3. The prophets were, of course, patriots and
statesmen ; they were primarily interested in the
things of their own day, and often they dealt in a very
practical way with very practical questions. But the
supreme quality of Hebrew prophetic literature the
quality which gives it its distinctive place is its
intense spirituality. More than any other body of
literature in the world, it brings life to the test of
ultimate values, and suffuses the mundane and tem
poral with the influences of the unseen and eternal.

To complete this short survey of the literature of
tho Bible something must be said about the literary
aspects of NT. (A fuller discussion will be found in
the article on The Development of the New Testa
ment Literature.")

The essential thing here is to realise tho difference
between those portions of NT which in literary char
acter are hardly to be distinguished from OT, and
those which reveal the influx of a new culture and new
ideas of composition.

Under the former head we have, it is evident, to
place the Synoptic Gospels. We pass to these from
the analogous parts of OT without being conscious of
any radical change in literary atmosphere : the re
semblances are fundamental, tho differences few and
superficial. In everything appertaining to method
and style, indeed, tho writers of these gospels clearly
belong to the OT school. Their narrative adheres to
the same general type ; it is marked by the same
plainness, directness, and simplicity, the same avoid
ance of amplification and digressive detail : as we
may see by turning to such fine examples as the story
of the death of John the Baptist (Mk. 617-29) and the
account of the shepherd,", watching their flocks by
night (Lk. 2s-2o). Their interspersed dialogues and

speeches arc likewise fashioned on OT models. Even
the discourses of Jesus, though they are so stamped
with the speaker s personality as to seem entirely
new and unique, have in respect of literary form
nothing original about them ; for His aphorisms, His
prophetic sayings. His parables, were all, as vehicles of
expression, familiar to J-Jw Jewish hearers from their
own Scriptures. In reading the first three gospels,
therefore, the literary student is throughout impressed
by the fact that ho is still dealing with OT modes of
thought and style. To this OT tradition in NT also
belongs Revelation, a late outgrowth from that Jewish
apocalyptic literature which, in turn, had evolved out
of prophecy.

When, however, we pass from these works to tho
remaining divisions of NT, we are marie aware in
different ways that we arc emerging into a fresh
world a world already touched by far-reaching
western influences. We feel this, for example, in
many places in Acts, and particularly in the second
part, which forms a fragmentary biography of Paul.
Here much of tho narrative suggests the touch of
self-conscious and deliberate art the art of the Greek
rather than of tho Hebrew writer ; as in the account
of what happened at Melita (2Si-6) ; while Paul s
speeches are obviously written or edited by one familiar
with the technique of Greek oratory. In tho fourth
gospel, again, Greek influences are powerfully at work,
not in theology only, but in. substance and manner as
well ; tho least critical reader must perceive this at
once, on observing the contrast between tho long,
sustained, and argumentative discourses of Jesus given
by John, and tho brief and simple addresses of tho
Master recorded by the synoptists. But it is most of
all tho epistles, and especially those of Paul, with
their complexity of thought and expression, their
subtlety of logic, their rhetorical skill, and the masterly
quality of their stylo, which announce unmistakably
that we have now left behind us the mental habits
and limitations of OT writers. Beside these examples
of brilliant reasoning and literary art, the " Wisdom "
books of OT seem, as has been well said, remote and
primitive. " When we pass from Proverbs and Job
to St. John and Romans and Hebrews, we have passed
from the world of Solomon to the world of Socrates "
(Gardiner, p. 185).

Literature. S. R. Driver, Intro, to the Lit. of OT ;
R. G. Moulton, The Literary Study of the Bible;
J. H. Gardiner, The. Bible as English Literature;
G. F. Moore, The Lit. of OT ; G. F. Kent, The Student s
OT ; E. G. King, Early Religious Poetry of the
Hebrews ; E. Kautzsch, Die Pcesie u. die poet. Bucher
des Alt. Test. ; K. Buddo, Hebrew Poetry (HDB) ;
Gunkcl, Die israelitische Liieratur in Die Kv.llur der
Gegenwart : Die orientalischen Literaluren. Much at
tention is given to this in Die Schriften des Alt. Test.

THE HOLY LAND

BY DR. E. W. G. MASTERMAN

THE land which the Divine purpose selected as the
home of the Hebrew race has had, through its situa
tion and physical conditions, no little bearing upon
their mental and spiritual development. Indeed, it is
impossible to understand the Hebrew people apart
from their environment, or to appreciate their litera
ture saturated as it is with local imagery without
some knowledge of the land of its origin. EV
Master Himself was, during His earthly ministry,
necessarily influenced by physical, geographical, and
climatic conditions which it isj important to realise if
we would understand liis life.

Names. The section of Southern (Syria which v.-;is
the scene of the of the OT and NT is

conveniently described as " The Holy Land since it
is difficult to get any modern geographical expression
which covers the who!*- of it satisfactorily. The o!ti".;t
name in the OT is the land of Canaan (On. !2s
163, 178, 37i, etc.). which occurs in the form Kinahki
in Egyptian monuments of c. 1800 B.C. and in the
Tell el-Amarna Correspondence (c. 14-0 r,.r.). Origi
nally this nir.uc. which means "lowland," was applied
to the maritime plain, but later it denoted as it does
in the OT the whole land west of Jordan. The land
Of Amur! or of the Amoritas (p. 53) a name which,
though probably far older, occurs in Assyrian and
Egyptian writings of c. 1200 B.C. is applied especially
to the mountain regions. Originally it appears to
have designated the mountain region of the whole of
Syria, but later it is especially used of the Lebanon
and southwards, the "land of the Haiti" or llittitea
being used for the more northern parts.

We read in Egyptian monuments (c. 1100 B.C.) of
the -arrival of the rurusati (rhili:-<in;-r;) and other
allied tribes, who settled, on the < south

western plains, at much the same time as the Hebrews
were beginning to occupy the mountains to the east
(p. 56). ^This di^ tri , ;;ently received the name of

ereta Pclislim or land of the Philistines, or in poetry
Peleseth or Phiiistia (Ex. 15i4, Is. !4-20,?,i). The
Greeks at a later age applied the name Syria Palsestina
to this region, and the Romans, still later, divided all
Southern Syria into Palestina Prima. Secunda, and
Tcrtia. Thus the- name, which originally, like Canaan,
applied to the coast-lands, came gradually to bo the
most used name for the whole land.

The name Syria a shortened form of Assyria is
never used in the OT for the land of the Hebrews,
but always for the rival kingdom whoso centre was at
Damascus. In the time of the Greek predominance
it came into use. as it is employed to-day, as the name
of the whole western borderland of the Mediterranean,
and in the NT it is used several times in that sense
(Mt. 424, Lk. 22, Ac. 1523.41, ISiS, 213, Gal. I 2 i).

Brief mention only can be made here of the com
monest designations given to the land of the Bible.

The term land of Israel is used twenty-two times in
the OT and twice in the NT. Yahweh is re pre
sented in many passages as speaking of " my land "
(Is. 1425, Jer. 27, 16i8, Jl. 16, 82, etc.). Allied terms
are a land which Yahweh thy God careth for "
(Dt. llic), "the land of my people" (Is. 32is), "my
heritage" (Jer. 27). "the land of your habitations"
(Nn. lor), "the land which Yahweh thy God giveth
thce" (Dt. 17i4, ISg, 2tii). Epithets used as de
scriptive of the land are many " a land flowing with
milk and honey " (Jos. 56), " Bculah," i.e. "married "
(Is. 624), "delightsome" (Mai. 812), "pleasant"
(Jer. 819), "plentiful" (Jer. 27), "glorious" (Dan.
II 16,41).

Physical Geography. The great mass of the rocks,
of which the mountains of Palestine and Syria ara
built, were laid down at a period when this whole
region, between Sinai in the south and Mount Taurus
in the north, was submerged. The primitive
(Archaean) rocks underlying these sedimentary rocka
are no white exposed, and the oldest strata, which
appear only near the south-east corner of the Dead Sea.
consist of a conglomerate built largely of fragments of
granite. Above the Archaean rocks are successively
layers of Nubian sandstone, which appear to the cast
of tho Dead Sea, then strata of limfstone of the
carboniferous age, containing ammonites and echino-
derms, and above these chalk strata of the upper
cretaceous age. The different layers of limestone
rocks are distinguished by varying degrees of hard
ness, in some cases by the presence of fossils or bands
of flint, and, in some parts, by their being impregnated
with phosphates or bitumen, the latter producing tho
" fire stone " or " Nebi Musa " stone.

The vast mass of sedimentary rocks, many hundreds
of feet thick, was gradually raised during the Miocene
period, in great folds running north and south. In
consequence of the enormous pressure to which tho
strata were subject during this process, many of them
became twisted in a remarkable way, and " faults "
appeared. A fault is a deep crack at the point of
greatest pressure, and such a crack usually leads to
shifting of the strata, the layers on one side being
elevated in some cases hundreds of feet higher than
on the other. Such a fault running for a distance of
350 miles has produced the Jordan Valley with its
extension north and south. As a consequence of this,
the strata on the cast side of tho crack have been
projected upwards, so that here the deeper layers,
e.g. Nubian sandstone, appear, while on the west the
deepest layers appearing on the surface are limestones.

The great " fault " or rift was evidently at one time
filled in its deeper parts by a great mass of water to a
level of 150 feet above the Mediterranean Sea as far
north as Hermon and also far south of the present
Dead Sea. The cause of this great accumulation of

1 In this article the names of places mentioned in the Bible are printed in clarendon type.

THE HOLY LAND

27

water was the copious rainfall of the first ice ago. It
was during this, and subsequent similar periods, that
the deep valleya were made by denudation of tho
limestone rocks by vast torrents. The enormous
quantities of diluvial material were carried eastward,
producing firstly gravelly and then finer marly de
posits at the bottom of the great central lake, and
westward to form the present maritime plain, where
they overlay Tertian deposits laid down when once
the sea washed the foot of the limestone hills.

The gradual onset of climatic conditions similar to
those of the present age led to the slow drying up of
the great central lake, exposing as dry land the greater
part of the lake bottom and leaving the three lakes.
The Dead Sea, which has no outlet, is intensely salt
because its waters contain the greater part of the
salts which were once dissolved in tho vastly greater
volume of the original lake.

In various parts of ths land, notably in Galilee and
in the district south and south-east of Hcrmon, there
are volcanic rocks due to large outflows of lava, and
extinct volcanoes occur in considerable numbers.
Although hot sulphurous springs exist in various
parts of the Jordan Valley, and earthquakes are by
no means uncommon, it is improbable that any active
volcanic disturbance has occurred since Man appeared
on this planet. It is probable that the physical and
climatic conditions of the land were, from the earliest
existence of Man, practically identical with those of
to-day.

General Physical Features. The geological pro
cesses just described have produced very definite
divisions of the land. Running north and south
through tho midst, we have tho Ghor or Jordan Valley
with its swift-running river, its three lakes, and in
consequence of its great depth below sea level its
tropical climate and fauna. On either side of this are
parallel mountain ranges rising abruptly from the
central valley, but descending gradually westwards
to the sea, and still more gradually eastwards to tha
desert. The mountains, in Palestine proper, scarcely
reach 4000 feet above the Mediterranean, but east of
the Jordan they are in places nearly 6000 feet, and
Hermon, on the northern border, is over 9000 feet
high. Thus from the summit of snow-clad Hermon
to the sweltering Dead Sea shore (nearly 1300 feet
below sea level) we have a difference of nearly 10,300
feet. Yet, in spite of the startling contrast due to
differences of elevation, one of the facts most striking
to visitors from the West is the general uniformity
of the land. For one thing, with the exception of
tho volcanic districts, the limestone strata here
horizontal, there acutely tilted or twisted, or full of
flinty nodules are everywhere in evidence. Moun
tains made of such rocks are usually rounded and
somewhat commonplace, and even the highest points
can be reached on horseback. Then tho climate, in
its broad features, is the same everywhere. A short,
wet winter with torrential rains is followed by a dry
summer season with perhaps no drop of rain for five,
or even wix months. The heavy rains tend to clear
the hillsides of soil unless this is prevented bv human
agency and the hot, dry summer soon withers the
spring s glorious promise of verdure. Milea of country
in the later summer produce nothing but a few scanty,
prickly weeds. The scarcity of timber greatly in
creased under Turkish misrule is marked all over tho
land. Springs are usually small and infrequent, and
not a few become intermittent, or dry up altogether,
after the summer drought. Common to the whole
land are the characteristic winds also the rain-

bearing south-west or west winds, tho cooling north
west wind, which so greatly mitigates tho heat of
midsummer evenings and nights, and tho dry and
parching south-east wind (the Sirocco) from the desert,
which spoils so much of tho otherwise pleasant weather
in spring and autumn.

From countless points all over tho land wonderful
prospects are to be seen, views of natural beauty,
with ever-changing atmospheric effects, but extra
ordinarily interesting and romantic to tho student of
history. For the size of the land tho prospects,
though harmonious, are wonderfully varied mountain
and plain, lake and ocean, tropical scenery in the
Jordan Valley and Alpine plants upon tho slopes of
Hermon all confined within an area so small that
nearly two-thirds of its length can be seen from one
pnlook. The small-ness of the land is striking when it
is realised that from Dan to Beersheba " is less than
130 miles in a straight line, and from the sea to tho
desert, in the land s widest part is less than 100 miles.
Enough of beauty still remains to enable us to imagine
what it must have been when a swarming and in
dustrious population cultivated it to its fullest -degree
and all its hills were clothed in forests, orchards, or
vineyards.

Extent and Natural Divisions of the Land. The
broad, natural divisions of Palestine run north and
south. To the west lies the Mediterranean Sea, to
the east the desert ; between these two the strip of
fertile land consists of two mountain ranges and two
plains. Near tho sea is the maritime plain ; running
east of this, and making up with it " Western Pales
tine," is the great mountain backbone which springs
from the Lebanon and loses itself far south in the
desert of Sinai. East of this is tho deep rift of the
Ghor, which holds the river Jordan and its attendant
lakes, while still further east there is a rapid rise to
thoso fertile and historic plateaux which made up
Eastern Palestine. This has been graphically por
trayed by several writers thus :

Sea

The

^faritime
1 laiii

The Central
Range

The Ghov
(Jor.tan
Valley)

Tlie Eastern
Range

Tb3

Desert

Tho westward boundary has not always been a very
secure one, for over these seas have come successively
Phoenicians, Philistines, Greeks, and Romans, and in
more modern times Crusaders and other Europeans.
The desert to the east has proved a securer protection,
but only when tho frontier has been held in some
force, for ever and again the wandering Bedouin like
the Midumites of old- have swarmed over the land
and eaten up the crops of the more settled inhabitants.
The most serious invasion of the land in the Christian
era also came from the East, when the followers of
Mohammed burst over the land and wrested it from
the Byzantines.

Southwards the land passes from over increasingly
parched mountain ranges to an utter desert plateau
where scarcely an Arab and a camel can exist.

Northwards no sharp lino divides Palestine proper
from Syria Damascus and its rich oasis has never
been a part of tho " land of Israel," nor has Lebanon.
To-day an artificial frontier is made, for purposes of
the Palestine Exploration Fund Survey, at Tyre and
a line eastwards from that city, but a more natural
division is the river Litany where it passes in its course
from east to west through an extraordinarily deep

28

THE HOLY LAND

gorge. This line prolonged to Bamas at the foot of
Hermon, though an arbitrary one, is probably as
satisfactory as any that can be found.

Within these bounds lies a land unique, a unit,
though broken into many parts. Less beautiful than
the Lebanon and Plicenicia, less fruitful than Egypt
and ancient Mesopotamia, smaller than all these,
wasted and maimed as it is, it yet attracts the thoughts
of a vastly greater number of mankind than all these
other lands combined.

Regional Geography. I. Western Palestine, (a) The
maritime plain, which stretches between the mountain
and the sea almost all along the coast, varies much in
width from one to five miles or so in Northern
Palestine to as much as twenty-five miles in the south.
Between Akka and Tyre the mountains of Galilee
terminate in precipitous headlands running out into
the sea, so that the old coast highroad had to negotiate
a steep and difficult route known as the " Ladder of
Tyre." North of this we have the Plain of Tyre and
then successively Sidon, Sarepta, Beirut, and other
Phoenician cities of ancient days, each upon its own
narrow strip of < oast-i lain.

South of the Ladder of Tyre the maritime plain
soon expands into the wide and well-watered Plain
of Akka, traversed by the two rivers, the Nahr Namein,
the ]5olus. and the Nahr el Mukatta, the Kishon.
Tho Bay of Akka (or Acre) ies bet \\ren the city of
that name the Accho of Jg. l.li and the Ptolemais
of Ac. 21 / on the north and the western extremity
of Mount Carmel, which here falls abruptly seawards,
but is separated from the : ea by a narrow plain.
Nestling to the north of the- western end of Carmel
is Haifa, a modern to-\\n which is coming into in
creasing importance as the terminus of the Hejaz
Railway and the owner of the one natural harbour
for modern ship.-> on all the coast of Palestine. South
of Carmel the c<mt presents no safe anchorage for
]} .-.-.enl -day needs, but at several points, where some
roekv reef or some slight indentation of the coast
occurs, Phdoiiii iun Bailors or their successors in Creek,
Roman, or later times established themselves and
made harbours suited to their small sailing boats.
We have thus from north to south Athllt. the Cas-
tellum LYregrinorum of the Crusaders, Tanturah, the
Phoenician Dor, el Kaiserleh or Caesarea, the capital
of Roman Palestine, Jaffa once Japho and Joppa,
Askalan, the successor of the Philistine and Crusading
Ascalon, and Ghuzzeh, now three miles inland but
nevertheless the successor of Philistine, Creek, and
Byzantine Gaza, All the ancient harbour works are
ruined, and the harbours themselves arc now largely
silted up. From Jaffa southwards, the sea-board is
hidden from the neighbouring plain by an ever-
broadening line of sand dunes which merge towards
the south into the sandy desert between Gaza and
Egypt- The plain itself from Carmel southwards to
the desert contains some of the most fertile land in
Palestine. The alluvial soil carried down from the
mountains is constantly King renewed by fresh de
posits from the hills, assisted in some parts by floods
in the rainy season. It is extensively, but by no
means fully, cultivated. The part to the north of
Jaffa is usually known as the Plain of Sharon (Is. 33q,
35i, 65io), and parts of this were once a forest. It
is traversed by several small streams, of which the
most important are the Nahr ez Zerka or Crocodile
River towards the north, and the Nahr el Awaj, the
Crooked River, which rises at Kefr Saba, the site of
the ancient Antipatfis (Ac. 2331"). and reaches the
sea just north of Jaffa. Inland from Jaffa on the

railway to Jerusalem are Ludd, the Lydda of Ao.
932, and Ramleh, both important places in the
midst of splendid groves of olives and fruit-trees,
while still further west, upon the actual foot hills,
is Tell cl Jezereh, the recently excavated site of
ancient Gezer (Jg. 129*, 1 K. Oisf.*). On the great
Egyptian highroad from Jaffa to Gaza lie successively,
Yebneh, the ancient Jabniel or Jamnia (Jos. 15n),
ten miles further south Esdud, once Ashdod, and still
another ten miles further south, Askalan upon the
coast itself. Far on the eastern edge of the plain,
nearly as far south as Gaza, is Tell el Hesy, the site
of Lachish (2 K. 18i4f., 19s Jcr. 34;), which has
been partially excavated. Between Jaffa and Gaza
in the north and Gaza and Lachish in the south lies
the great rolling plain of Philistia, on which rich
harvests of wheat and barley are gathered annually.
The remaining two groat Philistine cities, Gath, pos
sibly at Tell es San, and Ekron, possibly at cdh
Dhenebbeh, are not with any certainty identified.

(b) The great mountain backbone of Western
Palestine is naturally divided into five parts. In the
north, beyond Palestine proper, is the Lebanon ; then
comes Galilee, separated by the Litany from the pre
ceding and from Samaria by the wide plain of
Esdraclon ; beyond these, each with its own charac
teristics, we have Samaria, Judsca, and the Negeb.

(f ) The Lebanon extends for about fOO miles north
and south parallel with the Syrian coast. In the
north it is divided from the Nusairiyeh mountains
by the Nahr el Keblr or Eleutheros River ; in the
south from Galilee by the Nahr Litany, probably the
Lcontes of classical writers. To the west the narrow
strip of the Phoenician plain divides it from the sea,
and to the east it is separated from the Anti-Lebanon
by the plain el Bukaa or Cajlesyria, up the centre of
which the Oroivtcs flows northward. Within these
limits mountain points rise at several places to con
siderable heights, especially in the north. Makmal ie
10,207 feet, Saimin, near Beirut, 8895 feet, and Baruk,
further south, about 7000 feet high. Snow lies on
many of the higher summits until late in the summer.
The whole region is full of fountains and streams, some
of which traverse the most romantic gorges. The
superiority of this district over Palestine in this re
spect is partly due to the snowy summits and partly
to the presence here of a great stratum of water-
gathering Nubian sandstone (1300 to 1600 feet thick),
on which Coniferse flourish exceedingly. The lower
mountain slopes are highly cultivated in places, but
the forests of cedars which once crowned the heights
are to-day represented only by a few small and
scattered groves. The people of the Lebanon are as
much separated in government and in social life from
those of Palestine as they were in ancient times.

(2) Galilee, the " ring " or " region " (cf. " Galileo
of the nations," Is. 9i), was originally a special
limited district around Kedesh (Jos. 207, 2132). It
is divided by Josephus into three parts : (1) Upper
Galilee, (2) Lower Galilee, and (3) the Jordan Valley.
The division is a good one though somewhat artificial,
but as (3) will bo treated under the section dealing
with " the Jordan Valley " as a whole, it will be
convenient to treat the Plain of Esdraelon as the
third division instead.

Upper Galilee consists of a scries of high -lying
plateaux of considerable fertility, scored at their
edges by deep, irregular valleys. Safcd, the chief
town, stands a little to the south-east of the centre ;
some six miles to the west the summit of Jebel Jermak,
the highest point in Palestine, rises to a height of

THE HOLY LAND

29

3934 feet. The plateau ends abruptly to the south in
a well-defined range of hills running east and west, of
which the highest points are the Jebulet el Arus, 3500
feet high. The whole range descends abruptly about
2000 feet to the lower hill-country of Lower Galilee.

In this lofty mountain region there are relatively
many springs and fairly abundant winter rains. The
dryness of the later summer months is largely com
pensated by the abundant dews the dew of Hermon
(Ps. 133s) which is a result of the moisture-laden
south-west winds being suddenly cooled by contact
with Hermon. In several places, notably at the
plain of el Jish (Gischala) there are outcrops of
volcanic rock.

This highland region does not appear to have been
completely subdued by Israel, though partially settled
by Naphthali and Ashcr. The invasion of Benhadad
(1 K. 152o) fell heavily on this district, as did that of
Tiglathpileser the Assyrian (2 K. 1029). Most of the
captured places named were in Upper Galilee. Down
to NT times this land was the homo of a mixed and
largely pagan race. The extremely mixed character
of the inhabitants is a marked feature to-day. The
most famous sites are Kedcs, the ancient Kadesh-
Naphthali (Jos. 20?, 21 32, Jg. 4 9 f.*), one of the
" cities of refuge," and Khurbet Harraweh, a lofty
hill dominating the upper Jordan plain which marks
the site of ancient Razor (Jg. 42, etc.).

Lower Galilee is bounded on the north by the steep
mountain ridge just described ; on the south the
natural boundary is Esdraelon, but at times the plain
was counted, as was Carmel, to Galilee itself. To the
west Lower Galileo slopes gently down to the plain of
Akka, which politically belonged to it in Roman
times when Ptolemais was the port of the province.
On the east the province not only extended to the
Jordan but actually beyond it. Most references to
Galilee are to Lower Galileo, and this, almost exclusively
so far as we can gather, was the scene of the earthly
ministry of our Lord in the north.

t It is a region of no great height ; the loftiest point
is only 1800 feet above sea level. The hills are dis
posed in parallel ranges running east and west, with
wide, fertile valleys between. Some of these plains
have no proper drainage, and tend to become water
logged at the end of the winter rains. It is a rich and
fertile land, which under better political conditions
ought to be, what it once was, productive of vast
quantities of olives, vines, and fruit, as well as timber
It is dotted thick with villages, and even more witli
rums, marking historic sites. Nazareth is situated in
a sheltered hollow ; the hills which surround it overlook
the plain of Esdraelon. It was in Roman times off
any mam road and yet within easy reach of two
lour miles north-west, over hill slopes now thick with
brushwood and sweet-smelling herbs, lies Suffurieh
once Sepphoris, the Roman capital of the district in
NT times. Another six miles northward, across the
plain of Buttauf (the Asoohis of Josephus) is Khurbet 1
Kana, almost certainly the Cana of Galilee of Jn. 2i-n
4 4 6 which a late and unreliable tradition has located
at Kefr Kenna. Three miles N.W. of Kana up a
picturesque gorge, is Khurbet Jefat, the site of Jota-
pata, iamous in Josephus for its siege. A little further
west is the village of Kabul (Cabul), a name preserving
the tradition of 1 K. 9i 3 . Where the hills of Galilee
terminate to the south-west, opposite the lofty eastern
end of Carmel, is Haritheyeh, almost certainly the
" Harosheth of the Gentiles " famous in the historv
of Sisera (Jg. 42*).

i Khurbet = ruin.

West of Galilee, rising abruptly from the plain of
Esdraelon, but really an offshoot of the mountains of
Galileo, is Jebel et Tor, the Tabor of OT times,
sacred doubtless then as it is now, but an impossible
site, in spite of ecclesiastical tradition, for the Trans
figuration, since it was in NT times a thickly in
habited, semi -fortified site.

The modern carriage road from Nazareth lies some
miles to the north of Tabor and runs to Tiberias, tho
only surviving town of importance on the lake to-day.
Tiberias was avoided in NT times by faithful Jews
as godless, pagan, and defiled, but by the irony of
history became later a seat of tho Sanhcdrin, and
to-day is one of the four holy cities of Jewry. Tho
footsteps of Jesus must have taken Him by roads
further north, probably by Kana and the plain of tho
Buttauf to Gennesaret. Here, along the north sido
of the lake, lay the Jewish cities of Magdala now tho
squalid village of Mejdel and Capernaum, now tho
ruins of Tell Hum. Among the black, volcanic hill-
slopes, two miles north of Tell Hum, is Kerazch, a
black and shapeless ruin of the once fine city Chorazin.
Across the Jordan on the inland edge of an alluvial
plain (but counted in NT times as of Galileo) is a
hill known as et Tell ; here once stood Belhsaida,
" the house of fishing." called by tho Romans Beth-
saida Julias. Among the famous roads which crossed
Galilee, none are more celebrated than the " Way of
the Sea " (Is. 9i). This probably came up from tho
south via Beisan, skirted the western shore of the lake,
crossed Gennesarot, passed at least the territory or
outskirts of Capernaum, then turned successively
north and north-east, crossed the Jordan below Lake
Huleh, and so ran on to Damascus.

The Plain of Esdraelon or Megiddo, called to-day
Merj el Amir, is a wide expanse of alluvial soil of
great depth and fertility. In the spring it is a vast
stretch of green from end to end. Like the Jordan
Valley, the existence of this plain is duo to a fault
running east and west. It is not well supplied with
water, but the region of the sources of the sluggish
Nahr el Mukattam tho Kishon is often water
logged after heavy rains. Although this stream
winds across the plain all the way from the watershead
to its exit between Carmel and the south-western
corner of the hills of Galilee, it is only at this narrow
valley, and that too only after very heavy rain, that
tho Kishon can over be dangerous to cross (Jg. 62 1).
Such a plain, in a land so mountainous, must always
have been on a line of traffic ; to-day the railway runs
across it, as of old one of the most famous roads from
Mesopotamia to Egypt traversed it diagonally from
the eastern side of Tabor to tho great pass which begins
at Megiddo.

Tho Plain of Esdraelon is triangular in shape, one
angle being at the narrow pass where the Kishon has
forced its way between the mountains of Galileo and
the ridge of Carmel ; the second angle is near Tabor,

and the third near Jenin. The mountains of Nazareth

15 miles bound it on tho north ; on the south the
northern edge of the mountains of Samaria from
Jenin, past Megiddo to Carmel 20 miles make the
longest side of tho triangle ; while on the east a more
broken line of 15 miles runs from Jenin to Tabor,
passing successively the Mountains of Gilboa, 1648 feet,
Jebel Dahi, also called " Little Hermon," 1690 feet, and
Mount Tabor itself, 1843 feet high. Between Gilboa
and Jebel Dahi the long valley of Jezreel runs from be
tween Zerin (Jezreel) in the south, and Solam (Shunem,
2 K. 48*) in tho north, and with a rapid descent to
Beisan, theancient Bethshean(Jg. 127*), wheroit merges

30

THE HOLY LAND

in thn Jordan Valley. This is a very historic valley.
Hero occurred Gideon s victory over the unorganised
multitudes of the Midianitcs, and Ain Jaliid is pointed
out as the Spring of Hnrod where Gideon tested his
warriors (Jg. 7i*). In this valley too was Saul s last
battle with the Philistines (1 8. 31 ). On the northern
slope of Jebel Dahi is Endor, where he consulted the
witch the night before the battle, on the mountains
of Gilboa to the south he was slain, and on the gates
of Bethshean now Beisan, a railway station on the
railway to Damascus his and his sons bodies were
exposed. Again, less than two centuries later. Jchoram
in Jezrecl saw Jehu the son of jS imshi driving furiously
up this valley as Yahweh s chosen instrument of
vengeance upon his father s family ; before Jezreel,
close to Xa bo th s vineyard, Jeb.ora.rn fell while his
companion, Ahaziah. fled southward to Jenln ; by
Ifcleam, now Tell Belameh. he was wounded, and then
all along the southern edge of the plain, a dying man,
his chariot bore him to Megiddo where he died (2 K. 9).
At the foot of the northern slopes of. Jebel l>ahi,
opposite Tabor, is Nein. the Nain of Lk. 711-15.

(3) Samaria lies between the plain of Esdraclon on
the north and the higher, wilder, mountain region of
Judaea to the south the exact line of frontier varied
much at different periods and between the maritime
plain to the west and the Jordan to the east. The
term Mount Ephtahn, originally given to the territory
immediately north of Benjamin (, cs. 17 15. lO.so, etc.)
is in other passages of OT (c/. )ei . 3I->) applied to this
whole district. This region is char; by its

openness (as contrasted with .hula." !; to

wards the east, where the easily fordable Jordan gave
no protection, and there is little or no wilderness.
The great roads from .Syria to the coast PS well as
the great highroads between Mesopotamia and Egypt
traversed parts of this territory. Msgiddo, whose
site is marked by the great Tell Mutasellim (which
has been recently excavated), was the guard city of
the famous pass by which this highway traversed
the hills between Esdraelon and Sharon. Here
Thothmes III obtained a great victory over the people
of the land, and here long afterwards Josiah, trying
to intercept Pharaoh Neoho on his way to tight the
Assyrians, met his death at the hand of the Egyptian
king (2 K. 2320, 2 Ch. 3f>J2, Zech. 12n). Some
seven miles south-east of Tell Mutasellim is the recently
excavated Taanak, the Taanach of Jg. 019.

The fertility of Samaria is marked : this is largely
due to the soft character of its rocks, which readily
crumble under the weather, producing gently rounded
hills and many open plains. Samaria has a higher
proportion of cultivable land and far more springs
than Judrca. This openness to foreign influence and
more luxurious living tended to produce a people
more worldly and pagan than Judaea.

Carmel which geographically belongs to Samaria,
though not always politically is a district of special
fertility, and apparently specially prone to nature-
worship. The term Mount Carmel is usually applied
to the lofty ridge running from Tell Keirnun probably
Jokneam (Jos. 1222, etc.) to the western end at the
sea, but it is more correct to recognise as Carmel also
a triangular area of hills extending as far south as
the Crocodile River. It is a region specially suited
as its name implies to vineyards, and what may bo
done with it under skilled agriculture is shown at
Zammarin, where the- Jewish colonists have one of
their most prosperous settlements. The most striking
spot in Carmel is the most westerly point of the ridge,
called el Mahrakah, " the place of burning," 1687 feet

high, which is the probable site of Elijah s Contest

with the prophets of Baal (1 K. 18 io*j. The local
conditions correspond extraordinarily with the narra
tive. It is a remarkable spot apart from this, as the
prospect extends far over Galilee and Samaria. It
is not improbable that Elijah had his dwelling in
this neighbourhood.

The centre of Samaria is Nablus a corruption of
Neapolis, the " new city " which lies between Ebal
and Gcri/im and is the successor of Shechem (1 K. 12i).
The ancient city was probably at Khurbct Bclata, a
mile further east, at the entrance to the valley. This
fertile and well-watered valley between these lofty
mountains is a most important pass between the coast
and the East Jordan lands. Jebel Sulenuyeh or Ebal,
3032 feet high, faces south, and in consequence, be
cause it is much baked by the summer sun, its verdure
is scanty hence perhaps the idea of its being " cursed."
Jebel et Tor, Gerizim, which faces north, is full of
springs and greenness hence it was " blessed." Be
tween these two the assembled tribes recited the law
(Jos. 830-35). On Mount Gerizim stood the temple of
the Samaritans, once a rival in splendour to Zion,
and there the survivors of this once great community,
now numbering under 200, annually celebrate the
Passover. At the eastern foot of Gerizim is "Jacob s
Well," possibly the original well, but almost certainly
the site of the conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan
woman (Jn. 45-30). Across the valley on the south
eastern slopes of Ebal is " Ain Askar," the possible
site of Sychar.

From JS ablus, ancient roads radiate in various
directions. One, running south, is the ancient high
road to Bethel, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Beersheba,
familiar to the patriarchs. An equally ancient one
runs NNE. past Talluza the probable site of Tirzah,
the ancient capital (1 K. IG O and Tuba/, the Thebez
of Jg. 050, to Beisan, the Bethshean of the OT and
the Scythopolis of the period of the NT, the largest
of the cities of the Decapolis.

From Nablus an easy road, traversed to-day by
carriages, runs about 6J miles N\\ VV r . to Sebastieh.
Here on a lofty, isolated hill inhabited to-day at its
eastern end by some rapacious fellahin, lay the great
city of Samaria. The excavations recently conducted
here have revealed the foundations of the great palace
of Omri and of Ahab, but the most extensive and
magnificent remains belong to the reconstruction of
the city by Herod the Great, who gave it the new
name Scbastc (Greek for Augusta) in honour of
Augustus C scsar. The situation of the city of Samaria
was magnificent, surrounded by rich corn-fields, and
encircled by hills. From the recently excavated
remains of the great western gate- probably standing
on the site of a gate of Ahab s time it is possible to
reconstruct in imagination the whole story of the
flight of the Syrians (2 K. 7).

Close to the great north road, some eleven miles
north of Scbastieh, ia Tell Dotan the Dothan of
Gen. 37i; and 2 K. 613. To-day the great flocks of
sheep and goats from near, and the long strings of
camels travelling from afar, gather here to drink at the
copious spring : these and the many empty cisterns
around, all vividly recall the story of Joseph.

(4) JudEOU. The region south of Samaria is a well-
defined, geographical entity of a special character
which has had a marked influence on the Jews and on
the Bible. The first point is its sharply -defined isola
tion : although very close to some of the greatest
ancient highways to distant lands it was actually not
on one of them. The district is bounded upon throe

THE HOLY LAND

of its sides by natural frontiers difficult to pass. The
eastern boundary was theoretically the Jordan and
the Dead Sea, but within this there was a more efficient

line of deft-nee in the strip of waterless wilderness

the Wilderness of Judjea which is interposed between
the Dead Sea and the habitable area. On the south
lay the Negeb suited only to nomads and south of
that again an uninhabitable desert. Westward, the
frontier was protected by the steep descent of the
mountains, pierced at only three places by passes of
importance, viz. (1) In the north, the Valley of Aijalon
and pass of the Bethhorons (1 K. 9 17*), the scene of
many a historic battle (Jos. 10i2, 1 S, 14si, 2 S. 625,
1 Ch. 14i6). (2) The pass up which the Jaffa-Jeru
salem Railway runs. This traverses the fruitful Valley
of Sorek, and then up the Wady Ismain to the Valley
Of Rephaim (2 S. 018). (3) The third pass commences
up the famous Valley of Elah and reaches the Judtcan
plateau at Bethsur some five miles north of Hebron.
Up this pass the Syrian general Lysias marched to
the defeat of Judas Maccabasus (1 Mac. 628}.), Al
though the mountain wall presented a formidable
barrier to an enemy, the western frontier was further
protected by the existence of the Shephelah or " low
land," which in the days of primitive warfare formed
a country most suitable for border raids.

The northern frontier was the weak spot, and was
never denned with much certainty. Geographically
there are several valleys which would make a suitable
natural frontier, but practically the border ran, regard
less of natural features, across the central plateau in
an ill-defined line between the Valley of Miehmash in
the east, and that of Aialon in the west. Bethel and
AI were on the north, and Geba, Ramah, and Gibeon
fortified posts on the south of the frontier. On this
side the inhabitants of Judssa could never lull them
selves into a sense of security.

The territory within these boundaries consists, in
the main, of a high tableland from 2000 to 3000 feet
above sea level, and 35 miles long by 12 to 17 miles
broad. It is characterised by its bareness and com
parative sterility, yet with careful cultivation and the
repair of terraces it might be much improved on its
present condition. The district as a whole is but
poorly supplied with springs, and " dew " is much
scantier than in Galilee. The soil is in most places
shallow, and bare rock strata are everywhere much in
evidence ; there are, however, areas of considerable
fertility in many of the deeper valleys to the west.
Many parts which are useless for agriculture afford
good pasturage, and flocks of goats and sheep are
plentiful everywhere. Hard at the very doors of
many of the most inhabited regions lay the wilderness
the Jeshimon or " devastation " of the OT a
long strip several miles broad skirting the Dead Sea.
It is a region where, for eight months in the year, no
green blade of grass is visible and no spring nourishes
a solitary tree. Dry, scorched, and crumbling hill
sides and stony torrent beds, where scant rushes of
water occur scarcely a dozen days in the year, make
up the scenery. It is almost rainless, as the westerly
breezes passing these downward slopes rapidly ascend
and actually carry off, instead of depositing, moisture
The greate: - -* T - J - n * - -

of this ext]

impression ,_ fo w,,~,v. j^viu ueu

from Saul into this land, Jeremiah at Anathoth and
Amos at Tekoah were both bom on the very edge
of this awful desert, and its imagery colours their
writings. It was hero that John the Baptist began
ms mission, and Jesua Christ Himself not only was

31

there in His forty days trial, but as the desert creeps
up almost to Bethany itself, His eyes must very fre
quently have scanned its hills and valleys.

The one wide outlook of Jerusalem is across this
region, and Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoah, and Hebron
were all near the borders of the wilderness.

Nevertheless it was in this isolated, barren, and
rocky land of Judaea, with the wilderness ever in their
sight, that the Hebrew race developed their natural
geniusbraced by the hardness of their lot to a deeper
faith in their God. Hero gave utterance prophet and
seer : here too they survived, protected by their
poverty and their mountain heights, 135 years after
the Northern Kingdom fell : here after their exile
they once again established themselves: and here
through all their history they, to a remarkable extent,
maintained the purity of their race from contamination
by their idolatrous neighbours, whoso homes were
within sight of their territory on every side.

Hebron (Jg. 1 10*), the earlier centre of the monarchy,
occupied in ancient times a hilltop in a sheltered and
fruitful valley amid the actual highlands of Judah, in
touch towards the south with the Negeb, the home of the
pastoral^ patriarchs. A desire to occupy a point more
central in his dominions doubtless influenced David
to occupy the extraordinarily defensive site of Jeru
salem. The city of the Jebusites, which Davicl took,
occupied a narrow ridge with the Kedron Valley on
the east and the south, and the valley afterwards
called the Tyropceon on the west. It was a position
of natural strength, made doubtless almost impregnable
by great walls. The copious spring Gihon which
burst forth from under the city was even at that time
reached from within the walls by a long and compli
cated system of tunnels. From the time of David
onward the city commenced to expand, and by the
time of the later kings of Judah, it covered an area
probably as extensive as the existing old walled -in
city, though the walls of those days ran a good deal
further south than they do at present.

On the western side of the Judsean plateau there
were a number of fortified posts, among the more
important of which were the two Bethcrons guarding
the pass, Chepherah of Benjamin, Kiriath Jearim,
Chesalon, Gibeali of Judah, Gedor and Bethsur.

But it was in the lowland, the Shephelah, that the
great contests took place, especially in the early days,
when the Philistines were a real menace to the
Hebrews. This lowland region is cut off from the
highlands by a series of valleys running north and
It is an area of rich verdure and freshness.

" The valleys also are covered over with grain
They shout for joy, they also sing." (Ps. 6013.)

This region too is remarkable for its caves notably
round Beit Jebrin which were doubtless much used
as hiding-places in the old border warfare. Here was
Kellah (1 S. 23) and Adullam, David s stronghold,
and on its western border lay Gezer. The Valley of
Sorek near the Camp of Dan is full of memories of
Samson. Bethshemesh, now Ain Shems, Timnath,
now Tibnah, and Zorah, now Surah all within sight
of each other are connected with his memory. Here
too, probably, was the battle- with the Philistines
when the Ark was captured, and later up this valley
the milch kine came lowing, dragging back to Beth
shemesh the Ark which had proved so fateful to the
Philistines (1 S. 6). The Vale of Elah a little further
south, _ near the neighbourhood of Shoeoh, now
Shuweikeh, is famous as the scene of the great doings
of David and Goliath (1 S. 17). Still further south

32

THE HOLY LAND

lav tho frontier fortress, Marashah, the birthplace of
Micah now Tell Sandahannah, a site partially ex
cavated, and near to it is Beit Jebrm, which marks
the site of the famous Greek city of Eleutheropohs.

(5) Lastly we have on the south the Negeb, meaning
the " dry "land," hut translated in RY usually as
"the South" (Con. 12 9) 131,3, 20i, 2462, etc).
This region is of < f re;vt importance in connexion with
the history of the patriarchs. It is the steppe
region which forms the transition of the true desert,
the more southerly parts consists of rolling ridges
running east and west for about CO miles, beyond
which is the utterly uninhabitable desert. Even the
Ncaob is unauited to any settled habitation, and
except during the Byzantine, period when it is pos
sible that climatic conditions were betterthe only
inhabitants were always nomads. Of such were the
patriarchs when they dwelt there with their flocks
and herds. As in all life under such conditions good
wells are, on account of their scarcity, of great vaiuv.
They are a frequent subject of strife, and the digger
of a o-ood well has done a deed to make his name
remembered to succeeding generations. Beershebais
to-dav one of the fc-w sites peopled and that only
recently by settled inhabitants, Us ancient wells
have been cleaned out, and the water, pumped up by
engines, is supplied to all the houses.

Further south lie the famous springs, Am Guoeiat
and Ain Kedes, which belonged to the region of Kadesh
Barnea, where the children of Israel spent nearly
forty years. Tluw springs made lite possible tor
nomads but it must have been a hard one and it
can be well believed that the spoil of Canaan brought
by the twelve sine.; must have seemed wonderful
indeed. To tribes emerging from buch an environ
ment, Palestine was without doubt a land " flowing
with milk and honey " (Nil. 1325-27).

II The Jordan Valley.- The great rift between
Western and Eastern Pale-lino commences geographi
cally far to tho -.u.vth us the Valley el Bukaa, between
the Lebanon and Anti -Lebanon, and it runs on as <
Arabah far south of the Dead Sea, indeed it is con
tinued on to the Gulf of Akaba. The part of the
valley connected with Palestine is at once the deepest
and the most varied. The Jordan " the descender
arises by three (important) heath. The longest and
most direct is the river Hasbany, which rises in a
qui.-t pool NW. of Hasbaya, whence it runs fust
through woody banks, and then in a deep cleft be
tween Hermon and Jebel Dahar a spur of Lebanon
The second jincl most remarkable source is that at
Banias-once Panias, a sanctuary of Pan-where a
full-grown river bursts, ice-cold, out of tho foot o
Hermon. In NT times Csesarea Phlhppi stood here,
and the association of Peter s confession, " Thou art
the Christ " (Mt. IGiO), with this spot makes it pro
bable that the scene of tho Transfiguration should bo
located on one of the neighbouring spurs of Hermon.
The third source is at Tell el Kadi, the probable site
of ancient Dan (though this may actually have been
at Banias), the northern limit oi the land of Bw*j
where the water of the river Leddan bubbles up from
the ground in a couple of pools. These three streams
come together about H miles to the south of this, m
a plain 5 miles wide, "but the new-made river soon
loses itself in a great papyrus marsh This agair
opens into a shallow triangular lake, Lake Hukh
considered, without sufficient grounds, to be the Waters
Of Merom of Jos. 11 5-6. Lake Huleh is some 7 feet
above sea level, and from thie the Jordan descends in
less than 9 miles to tho Lake of Galilee, 680 feet below

sea level. The Lake oi Galilee is 12J miles long,
and at its widest, 8 miles across. The tops ot the
steep hills to east and wcat are largely volcanic and
this, and the absence of trees, make them look bare
and menacing when the spring verdure is gone. Along
the north shores there arc deltas el Ghuweir (Genne-
saret) and el Bataihah. These are regions ot great
fertility, and only require more extensive cultivation
to produce wonderful results. When the oleanders
on the lake-side are in bloom, the scenery is most
beautiful. To the south of the lake the great plain
the ancient lake bottom is 4 miles wide, and stretches,
of varying breadth, all the way to the Dead bea.
Near the exit of the Jordan, at es-Semakh, the Halla-
Damascus Railway touches the lake. At both ends ,
the lake the river -mouths are fordable. The water
of the lake is clear and fresh ; it abounds in fish, but
the fishing industry is but little developed. To-day
there is but one squalid town, Tiberias, and 1
villa o-es on the shores, but in NT times no less than
eleven cities and towns nourished near the shores
Along the north shore were the Jewish cities of
Magdala, Capernaum, Bcthsaida, and a little inland,
on the hills, Chorazin ; to the east were the Greek
cities Gergesa, Gamala, Hippos, and Gadara. Oil u
west side were Tarichese, Sinnabris, and Tiberias.

From this lake tho Jordan plain descends 65 miles
to the Dead Sea, 1290 feet below sea-level. The
river has cut out for itself a deeper bed from 50 to
150 feet below the level of tho old lake bottom. This
is known as the Zor, and in the OT as the (lit.
pride ") swelling of Jordan (Jer. 12 5 , 49ig, 5044).
Here in this deeper channel the muddy river winds
and twists for nearly 200 miles between rank and
tangled tropical vegetation once the haunt of lions
and other dangerous beasts and at certain seasons,
when swollen by the melting snows of Hermon, tl
river overflows its banks in places over an area nearly
a mile wide (Jos. 3 4 ). The important tributaries of
the Jordan are the Yarmuk, the Hieromax of antiquity,
arid the Zerka or Jabbok (Gen. 3222*).

The Jordan is easily forded at many places, under
normal conditions, but what made it so efficient a
frontier was not merely the water, but the dangers of
the route from man and beast, the scorching plain on
either side, and the long descents by rocky mountain
paths to reach its level.

Jericho originally nestled just below the western
hills, and owed its importance to its position astride
a splendid spring and to its guarding the ancient
road from the valley into tho heart of the hill country
the road down which Elijah and Elisha, together
for the last time, descended.

The Dead Sea, 1290 feet below sea level, is some
48 miles long by 12 broad, and reaches a depth of
1300 feet. It lies between parallel, semi -precipitous,
bare mountain ranges, which in many places, especially
on tho east side, fall sheer into tho water The only
tributary stream, besides the Jordan, is the Mojib or
Arnon. The northern three -fourths, where the sea is
deep is cut off from tho shallow southern quarter
(about 11 feet deep) by a peculiar peninsula, el Lisan,
the tongue." In this southern bay the water is so
saturated with salt that it crystallises out on the
bottom of the sea. On the average the water con
tains 25 per cent, of mineral salts about five times
that of the ocean. Although no life can exist ,m st ch
water, small fish and lower forms of life inhabit the
shallows and pools along the shore where brackish
sprino-s dilute the water. Bird life is abundant at
many spots on tho shore. There are submarine de-

THE HOLY LAND

posits of asphalt, as largo masses have at times floated
to the surface, and probably petroleum also occurs
in places. Possibly the tradition of the catastrophe
to the " cities of the plain "the site of which is
not known originated in some conflagration of
petroleum in this region (p. 152).

III. The district East of the Jordan, known in
OT as Abarim or " (those on) the other side," is
richer and more varied than that to the west. To the
north of Palestine proper, north-east of Harmon, is
the Ghutah or plain of Damascus, a great oasis of
watered gardens and orchards, irrigated by the Barada
or Abana and the Awaj or Pharpar, rivers which
finally lose themselves in marshy lakes to the east of
the city. The real East-Jordan land is divided into
four parts by the deep channels of the three rivers,
the Yarmuk, tho Zerka, and the Mojib. All the land
north of the Yarmuk and south of the Hermon and
the Damascus plain receive in the OT the general name
of Bashan (Xu. 2133-35*) ; in the NT time it formed a
large part of the tetrarchy of Philip, though much was
denominated by the Nabataean Arab king. To-day
it is politically included under the general name of
the Hauran. This region is by no means homogeneous
and is divided by physical differences. Bordering the
Upper Jordan Valley on the east side lies the black
plateau of the Jaulan with its double row of extinct
volcanoes. In NT times it was known as Gaulanitis,
while in the OT the city Golan, one of the " cities
of refuge " which has given rise to the later name was
situated here. Running cast of the Jaulan is the
" hollow " plain of the Hauran proper, a district lying
lower than its neighbours, consisting of a vast wheat-
growing expanse of extraordinary fertility. The
southern part also has the local modern name of en
Nukra. This whole district in the NT days was
called Auranitis and in the OT Hauran (Ezek. 47 1 6,
X 8) the ancient name has thus remarkably survived.
The very extensive ruins of towns, built of black
basalt blocks, not infrequently covered with Greek
inscriptions, shows that in the early Christian centuries
this district was thickly inhabited. East again of the
Hauran is the Leja, a great area of lava, some 20 feet
high and 24 miles long by 20 miles wide. It is a wild
region, in which the most intricate paths through the
natural cracks in the lava lead to Druzo villages
hidden away out of reach of the Turks. The Greek
writers, contemporary with the NT, called this and
a similar outflow of lava to the north of it a Trachon,
and the district Trachonltis. South of the Leja we
have the Jebel Hauran (also called the Jebel Druz
because it is the stronghold of the Druzes) a group
of extinct volcanoes rising in places to nearly 6000 feet.
This is Mount Asalmos of the Greek writers and per

haps " Mount Bashan " of the OT. Between the
Yarmuk and the Zerka or Jabbok is the fertile, once
well- wooded, district of Jebel Ajlun. Here were many
of the great cities of the Decapolis Gadara, Pclla,
Dion, Gerasa, Abila, and Kapitolias. The remaining
members of this league of Greek free cities were
mostly, so far as they have been identified, in the
near neighbourhood. Hippos was only just across
the Yarmuk near Gadara, Philadelphia (once Ramoth
Ammon, now Amman) on the higher reaches of the
Jabbok on the south. Kanatha, the most easterly
member of the league, was at the foot of the Jebel
Hauran, and Scythopolis, the most westerly, was
alone west of the Jordan. Parts of this Jebel Ajlun
district in NT times were included in Persea. In the
OT this district is the northern "Half Gilead " or
"rest of Gilead" (Dt. 813, Jos. 12s). The district
between the Zerka and the Mojib or Arnon is known
as the Belka, and is administered from Nablus ; it
consists of rolling downs, a pastoral country. In the
NT it formed the main part of Persea : it was a
Jewish district, in contrast with Samaria to its west
and Decapolis to the north. Jews often traversed
this land between Galilee and Judaea to avoid hostile
Samaria (cf. Mk. 10 1). In the OT this forms the
southern " Half Gilead " (Dt. 3i8, Jos. 124) the two
half-Gileads making "the Land of Gilead" (Nu. 32i,
29, Jos. 175,6), and Mount Gilead (Gen. 8121,25).
It is also designated the Mishor or " plain country."
The region south of the Mojib, which is to-day under
the Governor of Kerak (the ancient Kir of Moab),
was in OT times the main part of the kingdom of
Moab, although this region at times extended north
of the Mojib (Arnon) even to Madeba. The country
is, as we should expect from the OT, a great pasture-
land for sheep and goats (cf. 2 K. 84).

In the NT this land was part of the territory of
the Nabatseans, as was all the district further south
and much of that to the east of the districts mentioned
above. The centre of their kingdom was at Petra, and
their influence was wide. Damascus fell into their hands
in 87 B.C. Their whole land was known as Arabia;
it is to some part of this territory that Paul refers
when he writes (Gal. li?), " I went away into Arabia."

Literature. G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of
the Holy Land; C. F. Kent, Biblical Geography and
History ; E. Huntington, Palestine and its Transforma
tion; Socin, revised by Bonzinger (1912), Baideker s
Palestine and Syria; Palestine Exploration Fund s
Survey of Western Palestine, Survey of Eastern Pales
tine, Quarterly Statements, 1869-1914; special articles
in HDB, HSDB, DOG, EB, EBi ; G. A. Smith, Atlas
to the Historical Geography of the Holy Land ; Guthe,
Bibel-Atlas.

THE LANGUAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

BY PROFESSOR G. A. COOKE

1. The name Hebrew. By far the, creator part, of thoOT
was written in Hebrew, the rest is in ArJnta c (b Jo v)
The name Hebrew comes from tlio Gr. E8 pa los,inllt

Sr^tt oVr 3 ^ 8 ^ Aram - ^"HOK

rthn. in the 01, however, Wm is not the name of the
anguagc, but of the people who spoke it, and ? 8 used
by foreigners^. Gen. 39i 4; Ex. Ii6; 1 S 4e o Hii
and by Israelites to distinguish ihemsolves from for
owners (c . g Ex 2ii, 3i 8 ; Dt. 15ia ; Jon. 1 The
01 name for the language is 7 eH; ^ (2 K . J { 8 4 .
Noh 3,4), just as the later literature describes the
Israelites as ^ e J, ., (Ha g., N oh., Est.). The Gr
ca is first used for the old Hob. tonue

"

m Ac. .I 4 o, 222, 20i 4 refer to tho old Hebrew or to
the Aramaic of popular speech; but the context n

tend, 4 T n -i ?i ^ )bilblc thafc tho former is in"
ended Like the NT, Joseph means by Hebrew

Ms time! lgUaS and th Al ^aic dialect of

2. Origin of Hebrew.-In form the name ibhrl is

an adjective used as a gentilic noun, derived from

, ? ir=" pass," "cross," " traverse " ; hence ibh

one who crosses, one from the other side " And

so no doubt native tradition understood the word

Abram and his family were called

(c/ Jos. _42f.,i4f.), or of the Jordan, if the name arose
m Canaan ; hence LXX in Gen. 14/3 renders Abram
the crosser" (6 * fp d T w, Aquila 6 p rf " the nS
rom beyond >). But there is evidence which
to a different explanation. In J s gcnealr^v
1021,24,25-30) all the Semitic races are derived

f r^c S C S,.K; r-su si-* tl
"Z^-n.oEr-s^r^r^^r^^s

Israelites ; the root V/Wwr does not necessarily mean
to crew* (a river), it has also the sense of to *
(Nu. 20i 9 f ; Ezek. 614, 3328, 39r 4 , etc.)- more^er

betwee m th H m TO tlmn "" T accidental resemblance
>e ween _ 10 Hebrews and the HalunUp. 3.1), mentioned

horde; if Ol - Am letters ( c . MOO B.C.) as nomad

of rfnJn ^ ero f threat "g the settled population

Canaan. So it is possible that Hebrews was at

. the name of a group of tribes who invaded Canaan

wa a od Vn ^l" 7 *rf and that in time the namo
was applied to the Israelites as the survivors of these

immigrants from the desert. According to HCD
htion the ancestors of the race were closely con-
with the Aramaeans (see Gen. 11 28-30 J,

2 24 JR 24 4 ff. J, 2520 P, 28^ P, 29i E Ia I4 J
ol2o, 24 E; Dt 26 5 ), probably not with tho settled
tli? nSnad " " N W> Mcs P otami a, but with

not crossed tho Euphrates. ^Vhen ^the Hebrews
arrived in Canaan they readily adopted tho language
or tho country which differed but slightly (it mfy
be conjectured) from their own mother -tongue!
But however we interpret the tradition, Canaan
was the native home of Heb., and the Canaanite Ian
guagc its immediate parent. The earliest evidence
Am 3 foigenous language comes from tho Toll cl-
Amarna tablets, which aro written in Babylonian and
addressed to the Egyptian Pharaoh by officials livin^
m Canaan (p. 55). Occasionally words are explained by
their equivalents in a language which is almost identi
cai witn Heb. ; again, words and forms occur when tho
writer could not remember the correct Bab., and so
used his native Canaanite. Then in the OT itself wo
have tho evidence of Canaanite names of persons and
places-^ . Mclchizodek, Kirjath-sephor ; the names
of the primitive inhabitants of the land given in Gen
3G2off. have forms which aro akin to Heb?(e.<7. Shobal
Dishon, Zibeon, Alyan, Manahath, Ithran, etc. ) ; and
in Hob. we find negcb (lit. " dryness ) used for the
South, fae waterless hill-country S. of Judah ; om =
sea used for the West ; while in Is, 19 is the lan-

Stono (c 850 B.C.) we learn that the Moabites spoke
practica ly the same tongue as the Israelites, and no
the other neighbouring peoples did the same
with differences of pronunciation. Lastly, there is the
evidence of the Phoenician inscriptions. These are
almost all later than tho sixth century B.C. ; most of
them belong to the fourth century and later, by which
time the language had undergone considerable decay
But the material which has survived proves that tho
resemblance between Heb. and Phoenfis exceedingly
close, and leads to tho conclusion that both were
independent offshoots of a common stock, which must
have been no other than tho ancient Canaanite.

3. Place of Hebrew among the Semitic Languages.
These may be grouped as follows: A. North-Semitic
including (1) Babylonian and Assyrian ; (2) Aramaic
in numerous dialects ; (3) Canaanite, Hebrew-, Moabite
fo?^\ Cla " . B> Sout h-Semitic, including (1) Arabic
and d i T P T (3) . Sab < n > the language of a settled

,, t , - rom scrp-

All these languages have certain features in
common e.g. the word-stems or roots are composed
three consonants, though it may be inferred that
here was a stage, before the historical period, at which
two consonants formed the root, and that a third
consonant was added later to develop the root-meaning
in various directions ; the consonants rather than the
vowels form the staple of the linguistic structure

THE LANGUAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

35

the noun may be taken as the basis upon which the
verb was formed by the addition of pronominal frag
ments before or after to express verbal action ; the
verb has two tenses, used in a peculiar way ; the noun
has two genders, masc. and fern., and its various rela
tions are expressed by case-endings (Arab.) or by other
expedients (Heb., Aram., etc.) ; the oblique cases of
the possessive pronoun, and the pronominal object of
the verb, are expressed by suffixes added to the noun
or to the inflected form of the verb ; except in proper
names these languages do not lend themselves to the
formation of compounds ; there is great simplicity in
the expression of syntactical relations, though in
Arab, and Syr. this does not hold good to the same
extent as in Heb. ; there are few adverbs. Among
these languages, Arab, comes nearer to the original
Semitic than any other, owing, no doubt, to the
monotony and isolation of life in the desert ; yet there
are features in which Heb., and even Aram., is more
ancient than Arabic. The connexion between Heb. and
Aram, is particularly close, and appears in the earliest
Aram, known to us, that of the inscriptions from
Zenjirli and Nerab in N. Syria (early eighth century and
seventh century B.C.), and of the inscription of Zakkur,
king of Hamath in Central Syria (eighth century B.C.) ;
thus the Arab, aspirated dentals th, dh, z are repre
sented by the Heb. and Ass. equivalents sh, z, s, and
not by the usual Aram, sounds t, d, t; at the same
time the Arab, d (dad) =Hel>. s (soc/e)=Aram. ayin
finds its equivalent in q, as sometimes elsewhere in
Aramaic. The language of these early Aram, inscrip
tions is therefore remarkably like that of the OT.

4. Characteristics of Hebrew. In syntax Heb.
belongs to a primitive stage of development ; it has
no elaborated system of expressing the subordination
of sentences, it simply co-ordinates them by the
conjunction " and " ; the subtler connexions have
to be supplied by thought. Imagination also plays
a large part in the use of the tenses. The perfect and
imperfect do not determine the date, but only the
character of an action as complete or incomplete ; the
date must be learnt from the context. Both tenses,
therefore, may refer to the past, present, and future.
A prophet speaking of the future can use the perfect,
because he regards the event as already completed
(e.g. Is. 513, 9i-6 ; Nu. 24i7 ; Am 2) ; a poet can
use the imperfect of a past act, because he pictures
it as taking place under the eye (e.g. Ps. 181-20(21) ;
Ex. 155,i2,i4ff.). From this it will be seen that Heb.
is better adapted for poetry than for the expression
of systematic thought. When a writer attempts to
deal with abstract ideas, like the author of Ecclesiastes,
or to formulate a dogma , as Ezekiel does in ch. 18,
he becomes obscure or laboured. Another character
istic of classical Heb. is the use of waw conversive or
consecutive with the perfect to continue an imperfect,
or with the imperfect to continue a perfect l ; but in
late books, such as Chronicles, this consecutive waw
with the imperfect tends to be displaced by weak waw
(an ordinary " and ") with the perfect, and in post-
Biblical Heb. this has become the regular usage. One
more noteworthy feature of Heb. may be added here :
it concerns the relation between the vowels and the
tone or accent. In Heb. the original three short
vowels d, i, u are lengthened under the tone, or in
the open syllable immediately before the tone. In
the old Heb. writing there was no indication of vowels ;
Outsido the OT. waw conv. with the impf. occurs in the
Moabite Stone, and in the inscription of Zakkur mentioned above,
fragment A, lines 11-15; in Phosnician waw conv. with the pf.
occurs in the Marseilles and Carthaginian Tariffs (Cooke, N.-Sem.
Inter., 426,8,TO,ii 434,5,

then later the consonants M, waw, yodli were used as
vowel letters, and finally vowel points were inserted
to remove ambiguities and to make it clear how the
words were to be pronounced. This last stage occurred
between the Mishnah (c. 200 A.D.) and the rise of the
Massoretic school (seventh and eighth centuries A.D.).

5. Historical. Considering that the OT writings
cover a period of some thousand years, the language
presents on the surface a remarkable uniformity ; but
this is largely due to the labours of the schools and to
the requirements of the synagogue. A great variety
of style and diction appears in the different books, and
a golden and silver age of literature can be distinguished.
The dividing line may be drawn in the century after
the Exile, in the time of Nehemiah (c. 450 B.C.). The
finest specimens of Heb. prose are to be found in JE,
the older narratives in Jg., 1 and 2 S., 1 and 2 K., and
in Dt. For the purest and best compositions in poetry
and rhythmical prose we go to the eighth century
prophets and the ancient poems in the historical books.
In Jer., parts of 2 K., Ezek., 2 Is., Hag., Zech. (both
parts), a change begins to be felt, though it is not
prominent, in the language ; the style of P exhibits
about the same signs of lateness as Ezek., Hag., Zech.,
but hardly more. The earlier documents in Ezr. and
Neh. reveal a marked change, which becomes still
more evident in Ch. (c. 300 B.C.). The Chronicler has
a style of his own, which in uncouthness goes further
than that of any other OT writer, while EC. already
makes use of idioms and forms which are characteristic
of the new Hebrew of the Mishnah. The Heb. frag
ments of Ecclus., which have lately come to light,
approach nearer to the classical standard than Ch.,
Est., EC., Dan., and show that good Heb. was written
and understood in the early part of the second century
B.C. All these later books are more or less affected
by the growing influence of Aram. Some books of the
Apocrypha besides Ecclus. were originally composed
in Hob., probably modelled upon that of the OT, but
also partly in Aram., e.g. 1 Mac., Bar., 2 Esd. 3-14;
and the same holds good of many of the Jewish Apoca
lypses, from c. 200 B.C. to 10 A.D., viz. Enoch, Jubilees,
Ascension of Moses (? in Aram.), Test, of Twelve Patr.,
Pss. of Sol. These books, of which the originals are
now lost, bridged over the interval between the later
Heb. of the OT. and the new Heb. of the Mishnah.

6. Hebrew Supplanted by Aramaic. Before the
latest books of the OT. were written, Heb. had begun
to give place to Aram, in popular speech, but it held its
own as the language of religion and of the schools.
Already the compiler of Ezr.-Neh., i.e. probably the
Chronicler, c. 300 B.C., transcribes large portions from an
Aram, work, and similarly the author of Dan. (c. 170
B.C.) uses both languages. By this time, the Maccaboan
period, although Heb. was read and understood, the
Jews of Palestine had learnt to speak Aram. The
" holy tongue " was cultivated only by the learned.
What the Hob. language became in their hands is
seen in the Mishnah, the traditional, oral law codified
in both Talmuds, which reached its present official
form c. 200 A.D. ; and later still in the various inde
pendent Midrashim.

7. The Massorah. The MSS. of the Heb. OT are
all comparatively late, five or six centuries later than
the great unciaf MSS. of the NT. The oldest Heb.
MS. with a date attached which can be accepted with
confidence is the Codex Babylonicus at Petrograd,
containing Is.-Mal., 916 A.D. Moreover, all Hob.
MSS. belong to one recension or type, which was settled
by the minute care of the scholars of the seventh and
eighth centuries A.D., known as Massoretos, the

36

THE LANGUAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

guardians of Massorah, i.e. tradition, who fixed the
text, protected it by rules, and determined how it
was to be read and interpreted. And before the
Massoretic era great care must have been devoted to
1 he text, for it was substantially the same in the second
to fourth centuries, as quotations in the Talmud show ;
but in the preceding ages it underwent the usual
vicissitudes, and to recover the earlier state of the text
we must weigh the evidence of the Versions, which were
all made long before the Massoretic period (pp. 40-42).

8. Hebrew Writing. If we could discover the ancient
MSS. of the OT, we should find that they were not
written in the " square character " used in our present
MSS. and printed editions. The Jews have preserved
the recollection of a change made from the Hebrew
character to the Assyrian (i.e. Syrian or Aram.), and
they ascribed it to Ezra (Talni. B. San., 21b). In
reality the change was gradual, and not the work of
one man or of one age. The Heb. character used by
the OT writers was the old Semitic alphabet, found on
the Moabite Stone, the Aram, and Phcen. inscriptions,
and the Heb. inscriptions discovered at Siloam (c. 700
B.C.), at Samaria (written on fragments of pottery),
at Gezcr (? sixth century), and used on Heb. seals and
coins. The process by which the ancient script was
modified into the square character may be traced in
the Aram, papyri and inscriptions ; in its developed
form it was adopted by the Jews along with the Aram,
speech. When the transition took place we do not
know for certain ; it must have been before the
Christian era (see Mt. 5 is). The Heb. MSS. which
lay before the LXX translators, except probably the
MSS. of the Pentateuch (translated third century B.C.),
must have been written in an early form of the square
character.

Aramaic is the name given in the OT itself to the
language in which some parts of it are written, viz.
Dan. 24b-728 ; Ezr. 4-8-Gi8, 7i2-26 ; two words in
Gen. 3147 ; and the gloss Jer. lOn. Properly Aramaic
is the name of the people who spoke it, Aram or
Syrians. This branch of the Semitic stock inhabited
Mesopotamia and N. Syria, in many tribes and settle
ments. Their language spread far and wide, from
Mesopotamia to Egypt, from the mountains of Kurdi
stan to Cappadocia. It was used for commerce and
diplomacy in the eighth century B.C., as we know
from the Aram, inscriptions on weights and contracts
from Nineveh, and from 2 K. 1826 ; and long before
900 B.C. the Aram, speech and, perhaps, writing were
widely spread all over Syria, and had taken the place
of the Bab. cuneiform of five hundred years earlier
(Tell cl-Amarna tablets, c. 1400 B.C.). In Palestine,
as we have seen, it supplanted Heb. in the end ; hence
nearly all the Semitic words quoted in the NT are
Aram.

The dialects may be grouped under two heads :
Eastern Aram., including (1) Syriac, spoken at Edessa
in N.W. Mesopotamia, (2) the dialect of the Bab.
Talmud, (3) Mandaic ; and Western Aram., including
(1) the dialect of N. and Central Syria, represented by
the oldest Aram, inscriptions from the eighth century
onwards ; (2) Egyptian Aram., found chiefly on papyri
from the fifth century onwards ; the inscription from
Tema in N. Arabia, the inscriptions from Cappadocia
and on coins of Tarsus reveal a dialect of the same type ;
(3) Biblical Aram. ; (4) Nabataean ; (5) Palmyrene ;
(6) the Aram, of Targums Onkelos on the Pent, and
Jonathan on the Prophets ; (7) Galilaean Aram., in

the Jerusalem Talmud and certain Midrashim the
dialect spoken by our Lord and the apostles ; (8)
Christian Palestinian Aram., in translations of the
Gospels from c. the fifth century A.D. ; (9) Samaritan ;
(10) the Aram, of the Targums on the Hagiographa,
and the " Jerusalem " Targum on the Pentateuch.
The Aram, of the OT is most closely related to the
dialects spoken in and around Palestine, i.e. to nos.
(2), (4, (5). It is a mistake to suppose that the Jews
learnt Aram, in Babylon and brought it home with
them ; it was there already ; they learnt it by inter
course with their neighbours in Palestine. The Aram,
of Dan. is different from the dialect which was spoken
in Babylonia at the period of Nebuchadnezzar.

Literature. Hebrew. Grammars : ( 1 ) elementary,
A. B. Davidson 19 , (McFadyen) ; Wood and Lanchester ;
(2) advanced, Gescnius-Kautzsch 28 (tr. by Cowley) ;
Driver, Tenses in Heb. 3 ; A. B. Davidson, Heb. Syntax ;
Ewald, Syntax of the Heb. Language ; Stade, Lchrbuch
der Heb. Grammatik ; Konig, Lehrgebdude der Heb.
Sprachc, 2 vols., and Syntax. Lexicons: Heb. and
Engl. Lexicon, ed. by Brown, Driver, Briggs; Ceseni vis-
Buhl, Heb. und Aram. Worterbuch" 1 * ; Kimhi, Radi-
cum Liber, ed. by Biesenthal u. Leorecht ; Ochlah
W ochlah (a dictionary of the Massorah), ed. by Frcms-
dorff. Concordances : B. Davidson, 1876 ; the con
cord, publ. at Warsaw, 1883 ; Mandelkern (the fullest
concord, publ.) ; also a smaller edition ; Noldius,
Concordantiae Particularum Ebr.-Cliald., Jena edition,
1734.

Aramaic (Biblical). Grammars : Kautzsch, Gram,
de-s Biblisch- Ararndischcn ; Marti, Gram, der biblisch-
aramdischen Sprache. Lexicons : Levy, Chalddisches
Worterbuch ; and the Heb. Lexicons above.

Aramaic (Targums, Talmud, Midrash). Grammars :
Strack u. Siegfried, Lehrb. der neuhebrdischen Sprache;
Dalman, Grain, des yudisch-paldstinischen Aramdisch,
and Die Worte Jesu ; Segal, Mifnaic Hebrew ; Mar-
golis, Manual of the Aram. Language of the Babylonian
Talmud; Merx, Chrestomathia Targumica. Lexicons:
Plcnus Aruch, ed. Kohut, 8 vols. ; Levy, Chald.
Worterbuch (above), and N euhebrdisches u. Chalda,-
isches Worterbuch, 4 vols. ; Dalman, Aram.-u. neuhcb.
Worterbuch ; Marcus Jastrow, Diet, of the Targ., the
Talm. Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Lit.,
2 vols.

Syriac. Grammars : Brockelmann, Syrische Gram-
matik 3 ; Noldeke. Syr. Gram.; Duval, Traite de
Gram. Syriaque. Lexicons : Payne-Smith, Thesaurus
Syriacus, 2 vols. ; J. Payne-Smith, Syriac Dictionary.

Arabic. Grammars : ( 1 ) elementary, Thatcher,
Arab. Grammar; (2) advanced, Wright,^. rob. Grammar 3 ,
2 vols. ; Vernier, Grammaire Ara.be, 2 vols. Lexicons :
Lane, Arabic- English Le.ricon, 8 parts ; Kazimirski,
Diet, arabe-francais, 2 vols. ; Wortabet, Arab.- Engl.
Diet.

The Semitic Languages. Wright, Lectures on the
Comparat ve Grammar of the Semitic Languages ;
Noldeke, Semitic Languages, in EB n , and Bcitrdge
zur semitischen Sprachivissenschaft ; Lagarde, Ueber-
sicht iiber die . . . Bildung der Nomina ; Barth, Die
Nominalbildung in den semitischen Sprachen 8 ; Zim-
mern, V ergleichende Gram, der sem. Sprachen; Brockel
mann, Grundriss der vergleichenden Gram, der sem.
Sprachen, 2 vols. (abbreviated and tr. into French,
Precis de Linguistique Semitique) ; Lidzbarski, Nord-
semitische Epigraphik ; Cooke, North-Semitic Inscrip
tions.

I. FORMATION OF THE CANON. The starting-
point of all historical inquiry into the origin of the
OT Canon is the grouping and enumeration of books
which is found in all Hebrew MSS and Bibles, and
represents the tradition of Palestinian Judaism. The
Canon, as thus arranged, consists of 24 books, divided
into 3 groups as follows. I. The Law : the 5 books
of Moses. II. The Prophets : (a) the Former Prophets,
Jos., Jg., S., K. (4 books) ; (b) the Latter Prophets,
Is., Jer., Ezek., the Twelve (Minor) Prophets (4 books).
III. The Hagiographa (Kcthubim = iL writings ") : Ps.,
Pr., Job ; the five Megilloth or Rolls (Ca., Ru., Lam.,
EC., Est.); Dan., Ezr (with Neh.), Ch. (11 books). 1
While tradition varies slightly as to the order of the
books within the second and third divisions, the
division itself is rigidly maintained : there is never any
doubt to which part of the Canon a particular book
belongs. In the Talmud the number 24 and the
tripartite classification are so firmly established that
" The Twenty-four," and " The Law, the Prophets,
and the Writings " are standing designations for
canonical Scripture. The number 24 does not occur
earlier than the Apocalypse of Ezra (2 or 4 Esd.),
written towards the close of the first Christian century.
We read in 1437f. that Ezra, inspired by the Holy
Ghost, dictated in 40 days the scriptures destroyed at
the capture of Jerusalem in 94 volumes, the first 24 of
which (the canonical books) he was to publish immedi
ately, while the remaining 70 (the esoteric apocalyptic
writings) were to be handed down secretly. This
transparent fiction, which dominated Christian theology
down to the Reformation, shows quite clearly that
24 was the recognised number of sacred books in the
circles in which the writer of 4 Esd. moved. It is
true that his younger contemporary Josephus gives the
number as 22, dividing them into 5 of Moses, 13 of
Prophets, and 4 of hymns to God and precepts for
men. 2 But this statement, while it breaks absolutely
with the traditional arrangement of the books, implies
no disagreement as to the contents of the Canon ; for
it is practically certain that the number 22 is only an
artificial modification of the original 24, suggested by
the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet (Origen),
and arrived at by attaching Ru. to Jg., and Lam. to
Jer. The threefold division can be traced back to a
much earlier date. The Greek translator of Ecclus.
(c. 130 B.C.) alludes to it three times in his short Pro
logue ; it is referred to in a work (De vita, contemplativa)
attributed to Philo (c. A.D. 50), and possibly also in

1 Tliis Jewish Canon is, as regards contents, identical with the
thirty-nine books of the English OT, the difference In number being
accounted for by the fact that In our version S., K., Ch., and Exr.-
Neh. are divided into two books each, and that each of the twelve
Minor Prophets is counted as a reparate volume.

2 Besides adding Ru. to Jg. and Lam. to Jer., Josephus seems to
have reckoned Ch., Ezr., Dan., Job and Est. as historical and there
fore prophetical works, leaving forhisthird division Ps., Pr..Ca., EC.

Lk. 2444. It is to be noted, however, that in all three
cases the designation of the Hagiographa is vague or
partial, and not such as to imply that they formed a
definite collection.

In this tripartite division, then, modem investigators
find the key to the formation of the Canon. The
entire absence of any logical principle of classification
shows that it cannot have been the act of a single
individual such as Ezra ; and the theory (propounded
by Elias Levita in the sixteenth century, and introduced
into Protestant theology by the elder Buxtorf) that it
was the work of the " Men of the Great Synagogue " ia
not only destitute of any solid basis in Jewish tradition,
but has been shattered by the demonstration that no
such body as the Great Synagogue (at least in the
sense of a permanent ecclesiastical commission) ever
existed. All the external evidence at our disposal, as
well as the critical determination of the dates of certain
books, points to the conclusion that the three divisions
represent three successive stages of canonisation ; the
oldest canon having consisted of the Law alone, the
second of the Law plus the Prophets, and the third of
Law and Prophets plus the Hagiographa. In short,
the grouping of the books is the result of a protracted
historical process, which we shall now very briefly
sketch with the help of such information as we possess.

1. The Law. The Pentateuch is a composite pro
duction composed of several minor codes and docu
ments, and did not reach its final form till after the
return of the Jews from exile. Hence it is impossible
to place its complete canonisation earlier than the
fifth century B.C. How far the older strata of legisla
tion and history possessed anything like canonical
authority we cannot tell ; but there are two historic
events which have an important bearing on the ques
tion. One is the promulgation, in 621 B.C., of the
Deuteronomic law (2 K. 22f.), and the other the
publication (probably about 444 B.C.) of a Book of the
Law brought by Ezra from Babylon (Neh. 8-10). In
each case a Law Book was solemnly accepted by the
people as the basis of a covenant with God, and there
fore as having normative authority for religion and
the conduct of life. It is still uncertain whether Ezra s
Law Book was the entire Pentateuch or only that part
of it which is known as the Priestly Code. If the
former, then the canonisation of the Law may be
definitely assigned to the date of Ezra s covenant ;
but if the latter, all we can say is that canonisation
followed on the amalgamation of the Priestly Code
with the older material of the Pentateuch, which had
already been incorporated with the Law Book of 621.
On any view the transactions of 621 and 444 are of
fundamental significance as revealing the manner i;i
which the idea of canonicity entered into the theology
of Judaism. It springs from the conception of religion

38

CANON AND TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

as a covenant between God and Israel, and adds to
this conception the idea of an inspired book in which
the terms of the covenant are formulated. The second
half of the conception was capable of being extended
to other writings, as wo shall see : but the notion of
statutory prescription so domino ted Jewish thought to
the end that the Law, which was the oldest Canon,
always remained the standard and type of canonieity,
to which other scriptures might approximate, but to
which they could never altogether attain. The lower
limit for the canonisation of the Law is fixed by the
adoption of the Jewish Pentateuch by the Samaritan
community. The most probable date of this occur
rence is about 330 B.C. A comparison of the Jewish
and Samaritan Peiitateuchs proves that the Law, very
nearly in its present form, was before that time the
recognised sacred book of Judaism ; and the fact that
no other books were taken over by tho Samaritans
shows unmistakably that at the time of separation
the Law alone constituted tho sacred Canon of the Jews.
2. The Prophets. The nucleus of a second Canon,
however, was already in existence when tho first was
formed. We have seen that in its ultimate form thu
second Canon was composed of two dissimilar parts :
four historical books, and four books which are pro
phetic in the ordinary sense. Each of these divisions
traces its literary ancestry to pro-exilic times. Tho
former, indeed, appears to have boon originally tho
lator part of a great historical work, compiled during
the Exile, from which, in the time of Kzni. the Penta
teuch was detached and invested with canonical autho
rity. The subsequent redaction which those- books
(Jos.-K.) underwent may have taken place at a com
paratively early period ; and so the " Former Pro
phets " may have existed very much as we now have
them before the Samaritan schism in 330. The motive
for their eventual canonisation, and the explanation
of their position alongside of the prophetic writings,
was no doubt the belief that they had been written
by prophets, and therefore had tho same Divino
authority as the prophetic oracles themselves. Simi
larly, the groat mass of the strictly prophetical literature
was in the hands of the scribes of the fifth century.
That these writings were immediately inspired by God
was certainly the belief of the post-exilic Church
(Zech. Isf., 7i2, 89). But inspiration was not yet
equivalent to canonieity. Hence, while tho work of
collecting, arranging, and annotating the writings of
the prophets was diligently prosecuted in the two and
a half centuries that followed tho canonisation of the
Law, there was no attempt to treat them as a fixed
collection ; and prophecies as late as the third century
have been admitted into our prophetic Canon. The
decisive impulse towards the canonisation of this class
of writings was doubtless the cessation of the living
voice of prophecy in the Jewish community (Zech. 13
4-6, Ps. 74 9 , 1 Mac. 446, 9 2 ?, 144 1). The earliest
explicit allusion to the Prophets as a fixed corpus of
writings is in the Prologue to tho Greek Ben Sira
(Ecclus.), already referred to (130 B.C.). But we can
prove the existence of such a collection a little further
back. The author of Dan (c. 168 B.C.) speaks in 02 of
" the Books " in a manner which shows that he had
before him a definite body of writings, in which was
included the Book of Jer. Moreover the exclusion of
Dan itself from the Prophets is sufficient proof that
that part of the Canon was closed before it was written.
Again, Jesus ben Sira, the author of the Hebrew
Ecclus. (c. 200-180 B.C.), cites in chs. 46-49 from all
the eight books of the prophetic Canon in the order
iu which they stand in our Hebrew Bibles. From these

facts we may conclude with great certainty that the
completion of the second division of the Canon dates
from the end of the third or beginning of the second
century B.C. The only prophetic book regarding
which doubts are recorded in later times is Ezek.,
which is also the only one not quoted by Philo. But
the Talmudic legend which professes to attest such
doubts is, perhaps, to be considered rather as a vivid
expression of the difficulty of harmonising Ezekiel s
legislation with the Mosaic Law than as evidence of a
serious challenge to the canonieity of the book.

3. The Hagiographa. The third stratum of the
Canon is composed of a heterogeneous group of writings
whose canonical position was gradually established
during the two centuries that followed the canonisation
of the Prophets.^ Most of these were in existence at
that time ; but since they possessed neither the norma
tive authority of the Law, nor tho direct oracular
inspiration of prophecy, they were not considered to
have the same degree of sanctity as these other scrip
tures, or to form a closed collection. The Prologue to
Ben Sira contains the first mention of this sub-canonical
class of writings, but in terms which strongly suggest
that its boundaries were still indefinite " the others
that followed upon them" (i.e. upon the Prophets),
" the other ancestral books," " the rest of the books "
and which at any rate leave us in entire ignorance of
its extent. We aro equally in tho dark as to the subse
quent history of the collection, of tho order in which
different books were added to it, and of the time when
it came to be regarded as closed against tho admission
of other writings. Wo know, indeed, that Philo (who
never cites apocryphal works) quotes from all the
Kethitbim except Dan., EC., Ca., Ru., Lam., Est., and
NT writers from all except Est,, Ca., EC. ; and hence
we may conclude that at least all those cited by both
were generally accepted as canonical in the first century
of our era. We are, of course, not entitled to conclude
from the silence of Philo or the NT that a particular
book w T as uncanonical ; but since we know that the
canonieity of EC., Ca., and Est, was disputed at a
still later time (see below), tho fact that precisely theso
books are cited neither by Philo nor in the NT may
signify that their canonical position was not yet
universally recognised. On the other hand, tho evi
dence of 4 Esd. and Josephus (see above) shows that
by the end of the first century A.D. the Canon in its
present compass was firmly established, at least in tho
Pharisaic circles of Palestine.

Official Determination of the Canon It is all the
more surprising that at this very time the canonieity
of certain books was a subject of acute controversy in
the Jewish schools, and that doubts on this point wore
not silenced till well into tho second century. From
the classical passage in the Mishnic tract Yadaim (85)
we learn that as regards EC. there was, about the time
of Christ, a division between the schools of Hillel and
Shammai, the former maintaining and the latter deny
ing the canonieity of that book ; and also that a view
adverse to Ca. was held by individual Rabbis in tho
early part of the second century. This state of affairs
is intelligible only on one supposition, viz. that the
question of canonieity had not been decided by formal
decree in any authoritative assembly. All that had
been attained was an informal consensus of opinion in
favour of the books finally reckoned as canonical ; an
opinion, however, from which any competent person
might dissent if he saw reason. The only public
decision of which we have information is that of a
great Synod held at Jamnia some time near the end
of the first century ; and there the Canon was taken

CANON AND TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

39

for granted, except as regards Ca. and EC., whoso
claims were disputed. It was decreed that both " defile
tho hands," i.e. are canonical. That this decision was
not universally respected appears from the vehement
language of R. Aqiba at a later time (died A.D. 135),
who declared that Ca. is the most sacred of all the
Kethubim, and that its canonicity had never been
questioned in Israel, although ho admitted there might
have been some difference as to EC. Nevertheless tho
matter was really settled by tho Council of Jamnia,
whose decision was accepted as final by tho authorities
of the Mishna (c. A.D. 200). The only other book about
which serious doubt seems to have been entertained is
Est., which was pronounced apocryphal by distin
guished Rabbis of the second and third centuries. It
does not appear either in tho list of sacred books drawn
up by Melito of Sardis (A.D. 170) on information derived
from Jewish sources, or in certain forms of the Syrian
Canon. All this, together with the silence of Philo and
the NT, goes to show that though the book passed un
challenged at the Synod of Jamnia, its canonicity was
widely questioned even among Jews. By the end of
the second century, all scruples were practically over
come ; and it is noteworthy that in the final result no
book was rejected for which a place had once boea
claimed among the Kdhnbim.

The Apocrypha. There was, however, a class of
books which the Jews of Palestine had never thought
of canonising, but whose canonicity was destined to
become a controversial issue in the Christian Church.
The source of this controversy lies in tho fact that
the LXX, which was the first Bible of the Christians,
not only differs entirely from the Hebrew in the arrange
ment of the books, but contains a number of writings
which are not in the Hebrew Canon at all. The number
of such writings varies in different Greek MSS, and
only a selection of them was received into the Vulgate,
while a somewhat different selection is given in the
Apocrypha of the English versions. Still, speaking
broadly, it may be said that the books now called
apocryphal represent the excess of tho LXX over the
Hebrew Canon ; and the question arises whether there
was a real divergence of opinion between the Palestinian
and Alexandrian Jews as to the canonicity of these
books. It has been supposed by some that the facts
prove tho existence of an Alexandrian Canon differing
from that of Palestine ; and by others that at one timo
(say before A.D. 70) the limits of canonicity were moro
widely drawn than was eventually allowed by the narrow
doctrine of the Pharisaic schools. The question is not
free from difficulty. When we find a typical Alex
andrian like Philo combining a broad view of inspira
tion with a strict adherence in practice to the Canon
of Palestine, and a disciple of the Pharisees like Josephus
combining a free use of the Apocrypha with an asser
tion of the exclusive inspiration of the Palestinian
Canon, wo can hardly believe that the Alexandrian Jews
maintained a theory of canonicity opposed to that of
their brethren in Palestine. The truth appears to bo
that their use of religious literature was not regulated
by any rigid notions of canonicity, that their laxity in
this respect was reflected in the MSS of the LXX, and
thus led eventually to the canonisation of certain extra-
canonical books by the Christian Church. At the same
time there was in Christendom a consciousness that
these books were not on the same level of authority
as those accepted by the Jews ; and even in tho
Western Church this feeling, reinforced by the great
influence of Jerome, persisted more or less till tho
Council of Trent, when it was decided that all the books
contained in tho Vulgate are in tho full sense canonical.

The Protestant churches fell back on the position of
Jerome, that the books not included in the Hebrew
Bible were to bo classed as apocryphal, although in
some cases their use was allowed " for example of lifo
and instruction of manners."

The Jewish Notion of Canonicity. This brings us to
consider in the last place the ideas of canonicity which
ruled the decisions of tho Jewish authorities regarding
tho inspiration of particular books. Tho two expres
sions used to distinguish between canonical and un-
canonical scriptures throw no light on this question,
but are in themselves interesting. Tho first describes
a canonical book as one that " defiles the hands," which
means that it is such that contact with it requires a
ceremonial washing of tho hands before touching any
other object ; the sacred character of tho Scriptures
being thus emphasized. The other expression is the
verb ganaz (" withdraw " or " conceal "), which waa
applied to the act of excluding a book from tho Canon
an act, by the way, never (save in one lato passage)
reported as having been actually accomplished, but
only as having been proposed and overruled. Since
tho participle genuzim agrees partially in sense with
tho Greek apokrypJm, it is tempting to infer that the
two terms are equivalent ; and this appears to be
substantially correct, although tho Hebrew word
actually used for tho Apocrypha is not genuzim but
hizonim (" outside " books). There is, at all events
nothing to support the opinion of those scholars who
hold that ganaz only means to withdraw a book from
public reading without prejudice to its canonical char
acter. But neither the ono expression nor the other
throws any light on the principles by which the scribes
decided whether a book properly belonged to the sacred
collection or not. These, as might be expected, wero
of a purely formal and external kind. The funda
mental criterion of canonicifcy was conformity to the
Law. No book was sacred which did not agree with
the teaching of the Law, which was always regarded
as having a fuller inspiration than other books, and as
furnishing tho standard by which they were to be
tested. But a test like this was obviously capable of
very arbitrary application ; as we may see from the
fact that it retained such a book as EC., while excluding
Ecclus. Accordingly we must find some other prin
ciple, more influential in practice ; and we find it in
the idea of a time limit to the succession of prophets
inspired of Gocl to write the record of revelation. This
principle is distinctly enunciated by Josephus in his
treatise against Apion ; and although we have no
account of its actual application to the case of any
disputed book, we know that it was a prevalent view
of the later Jews, and can trace its application in the
result. According to this theory the psriod of revela
tion extended from Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes
(Longimanus), who was identified with the Ahasuerus
of the Book of Est., which was thus supposed to bo the
latest canonical writing. Only those books, therefore,
were retained in the Canon which were believed to
have been written before that date ; while those which
(like Ecclus.) were ostensibly of later authorship were,
by that very fact, excluded. If we add as a third
condition that a sacred book must be written in Hebrew,
we have a set of rules which, though not quite ex
haustive of the considerations urged for or against all
contested books, nevertheless sufficiently account for
the rigid and mechanical division established in Pales
tine between canonical and apocryphal writings.

It is manifest that a Canon deliberately constructed
on these lines would have no valid authority for the
Christian Church. We believe that tho Jews were

40

CANON AND TEXT OP THE OLD TESTAMENT

wrong in their views of the date and authorship of the
books of the OT, wrong in their doctrine of a time-limit
to inspiration, and wrong in their exaggerated esti
mate of the Law as compared with the Prophets and
the Psalms. But we must remember that, after all,
scholastic definitions played a very insignificant part
in the actual formation of the OT Canon. It was only
in the ease of a few disputed and comparatively unim
portant books that the theories of the scribes had to
be appealed to, and then only to deal with theoretical
objections which were in every instance overruled.
For the great mass of the OT Scriptures, the real
sanction lies in the witness borne to their inspiration
by the experience of devout minds in Israel, whoso
spiritual insight had discerned their unique value for
the nourishment of the religious life of fellowship with
God, and thus gradually gathered them into a collec
tion of sacred writings. Our acceptance of the OT
Canon rests on the conviction that the spiritual process
which led to its formation was the result of a true
revelation of God in the history of Israel, and of an
insight into the meaning of that revelation in which wo
recognise the illumination of that Spirit which guides
into all truth. And when we find that the books
whose canonical position was established only by the
methods of Pharisaic casuistry are precisely those
whose religious value is least, and which are never
quoted by our Lord or His disciples, the obvious lesson
is that tho inspiration of an OT book is not guaranteed
by its place in an arbitrarily defined ( anon, but by its
vital relation to the essence of the ancient dispensation,
and the degree in which it commended itself to tho
reverence and piety of the community entrusted with
tho oracles of God.

II. THE TEXT. The long and complicated history
of the OT text may be conveniently divided into three
main periods : I. From tho time when the books were
written to the final determination of the Canon in the
second century. II. From that time to the flourishing
age of the Jewish Massora (sixth to tenth century).
III. From tho Massoretic age to the present day.
This represents the two most important junctures in
the transmission of the text. In the second century
the fixing of the Canon was accompanied by a revision
of its text, and followed by a resolute and remarkably
successful effort to establish this revised text as the
standard recension of the Hebrew Bible. And the
activity of the Massoretes marks the culmination of
this sustained effort in the reduction of the entire MS
tradition to a uniform type. To them also we owe
tho important innovation of the use of vocalic and
accentual signs ; and the astonishing similarity which
now prevails in all editions and extant MSS of the
Hebrew OT is very largely the result of their inde
fatigable labours.

The investigation of this history is the foundation of
all scientific criticism of the OT text. The aim of
textual criticism being to recover as nearly as possible
the exact form in which a book left the hand of its
author, it is obvious that the further back we can
trace the text of any writing the nearer we shall be to
the attainment of that object. It is true that in the
case of OT books we never come within measurable
distance of the original autographs ; but still we are
able, by the methods to be indicated in this article, to
eliminate a great many sources of error which have
affected MSS at different stages in the transmission of
the text.

The materials for this investigation fall broadly into
three classes : (1) MSS and editions of the Hebrew text
itself : these, of course, havs> descended by successive

transcriptions from the autograph copies of the various
writings. But the existing Hebrew MSS are all of
comparatively recent date ; and besides, they present
so little variation that from them alone we could hardly
form any conclusions as to the previous development
of the text. (2) MSS and editions of a large number
of translations made at different times, either directly
from tho Hebrew (primary versions) or from some
earlier translation (" daughter versions "). It will be
readily understood that a version has critical value
only in so far as it furnishes independent evidence of
the existence of a characteristic form of text at tho
time when it was made. If (as is the case with the
English versions) we have access to the original Hebrew
on which they are known to have been based, we learn
nothing from the version in question except the com
petence or otherwise of the translators. But in the
case of the older versions, which originated long before
any known MS was written, we do not know before
hand what their basis was. and can ascertain it only by
the delicate process of retranslation into Hebrew. This
operation, if it can be satisfactorily performed, will
obviously give us the text of one or more Hebrew MSS
contemporary with the date of translation ; and by
comparing this with our present Hebrew text we may
obtain valuable light on the condition of the Hebrew
text at a particular stage of its history. (3) Quotations
and allusions by writers of known date, from which we
can discover what readings were found in contemporary
MSS of the Hebrew Bible or of the version which they
used. Alongside of these we may place the mass of
observations on the Hebrew text which constitute tho
staple of the Jewish Massora (see below).

From this very inadequate account of the apparatus
and the essential processes of textual criticism as
applied to the OT, we pass to an equally slight sketch
of the leading results that can be established, following
the threefold division given at the outset.

I. The first period may bo characterised as the age
of divided text. Here tho chief witnesses are (a) the
Samaritan Pentateuch, and (b) the LXX. (a) Tho
former is a recension in tho Hebrew language, but in
Samaritan script of the Pentateuch which the Samari
tans borrowed from the Jews about 330 B.C., and
which is now represented by MSS. dating from the
twelfth century and downwards. That some inten
tional changes were introduced by the Samaritans is
quite certain ; but the basis of the text must be that
of Jewish MSS of that early time. When we compare
it with the present Hebrew text we find a very close
similarity, but along with differences which cannot all
bo dismissed as errors on the side of the Sam. It
contains readings which by their intrinsic superiority
commend themselves as nearer the original than the
MT ; although in the majority of instances where tho
two diverge, the original text is best preserved in the
Jewish recension ; and in certain passages both -are
manifestly corrupt. We thus see that even so early
as the fourth century B.C. the text of the Pentateuch
had already undergone a certain amount of deteriora
tion, and that the MSS. of the period did not present
the uniformity which marks the later stages of trans
mission, (b) These conclusions are confirmed, but in
a much more emphatic manner, for a somewhat later
time, by the LXX, the Greek translation of the OT.
Strictly speaking, the name LXX applies only to the
translation of the Law, which was traditionally ascribed
to seventy or seventy-two scholars working under the
patronage of Ptolemy Philadelphus at Alexandria in
the first half of the third century B.C. There is no
reason to doubt the authenticity of the tradition so far

CANON AND TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

41

as regards the place and date of the translation of the
Pentateuch : the remaining books were translated at
various unknown periods during the next century and
a half. The recovery of the original Greek text of
the LXX, and still more of the Hebrew that lies behind
it, is amongst the most difficult processes of textual
criticism ; but enough is known to make it certain
that the Hebrew MSS then in circulation presented a
variety which is in striking contrast to the monotonous
uniformity of the post-Massoretic age, and that the
better (and therefore more original) text is sometimes
that which is preserved in the Greek translation, but
more frequently in that which is the parent of the
present Hebrew text. We have thus, in the case of
the Pentateuch, evidence of the existence of three
recensions (represented respectively by the MT, the
Sam., and the LXX) of the Hebrew in the fourth and
third centuries, B.C. ; and the relations of these three
to one another is a problem of which a complete
solution has not yet been worked out. In the other
books we have proof always of two recursions (MT
and LXX), sometimes of more ; for in some cases the
MSS of the LXX seem to combine different translations
from the original Hebrew. But the natural conclusion
is that the survival of only two or three types of text
is an accident ; and that if we could survey the whole
MS. material of that remote age we should find a
diversity which fully justifies the description of the
period as a period of divided text. In explanation of
the laxity of transcription which all this implies, we
have to note in the first place, that the translation of
many of the later books into Greek took place in all
probability before they were received into the Canon,
and therefore before they were guarded by official
supervision against irresponsible changes of text. In
the next place, that verbal inspiration or textual in
violability was not considered a note of canonicity till
a later time, so that even a canonical book might be
subjected to deliberate revision in detail. Thirdly,
that canonisation, being merely a judgment as to the
religious value or sacred character of a book, did not
discriminate between one form of its text and another,
so that the copy adopted for the standard recension
might not present the best form of text as judged by
critical principles. Lastly, while we may assume that
from the first care was taken to preserve the text of a
book once admitted to the Canon (and especially of the
Law), wo must recognise that no official censorship
could secure perfect immunity from error on the part
of copyists. The result is, as we might expect, that
on the whole, the official recension from which our MT
has descended was nearer the original than any that
can be recovered from the versions (p. 125) ; yet it con
tained many defects, and can frequently be corrected and
improved by the help of the variant readings attested
by those versions. Towards the close of this period
we find evidence of the increasing homogeneity of the
Hebrew text in the Old Syriac version, called the
Peshitta. The exact date at which it was made is not
known, nor is it certain how far it was prepared under
Christian and how far under Jewish auspices ; but it
seems clear that it was based on Hebrew MSS some-
what,o]der than the standard text of the second century.
At all events it is a version made directly from the
Hebrew (although revised with the help of the LXX) ;
and examination appeal s to show that its Hebrew
basis, while not absolutely identical with the MT,
nevertheless resembled it very closely. We may infer
that the textual confusion of an earlier time was passing
away through the disappcr.vance of unofficial MSS.,
and that the solidarity which was stereotyped in the

second century had practically been brought about by
the sole survival of the authorised Palestinian recension.
II. The second period is introduced by the fixation
of a standard text which has maintained itself with
little variation till the present time. The principle of
textual inviolability which was the necessary pre
supposition of the exegetical methods of the school of
Hillel, and was already acknowledged in the time of
Christ (Mt. 018), was now deliberately adopted and
carried out to its practical consequences. The precise
manner in which this was done will never be known ;
but there is no reasonable doubt that in the main it
was the work of R. Aqiba (died A.D. 135) and his
compeers in the early part of the century. Certain
idiosyncrasies of the received text and one or two
legends relating to the time go to show that the attempt
was made to conform the text to a particular Codex
or Archetype, which was known to be imperfect but
which, for some reason, was regarded with peculiar
veneration ; but how far the existing text is a slavish
reproduction of that single MS is a question still un
settled. The first piece of evidence for the authority
of the new recension is the Greek version of Aquila
(said to have been a pupil of Aqiba), an almost mechani
cally literal expression of the Hebrew which was meant
to supersede the LXX in the use of Greek-speaking
Jews. It has survived only in a few slight fragments
and in citations by the Fathers and on the margins of
MSS ; but from these it is sufficiently clear that its
Hebrew oiigirial was virtually our present MT. The
nearly contemporary Greek versions of Theodotion
and Symmachus may here be mentioned as less drastic
efforts to mediate between the Hebrew verity and the
popular but now discredited LXX. In the history of
the LXX itself the early part of the period before us
witnessed several eventful developments. A number
of secondary versions in various dialects chief among
them the Old Latin, from about A.D. 200 appeared,
from which we obtain valuable light on the condition
of the contemporary Greek text. Before the third
century that text was in such confusion that three
scholars, Origen, Lucian, and Hesychius, were moved
independently to produce critical recensions for the
use of Christians ; the most famous being the Hexapla
of Origen, which was accepted in the time of Jerome
as the standard edition of the LXX. The influence of
these recensions, and particularly of the Hexapla, on the
current LXX text has been all-pervading, and seriously
complicates the problem of recovering the original text
of the Greek translation. In the fourth century we
come to the earliest direct witnesses to the OT text
in the oldest MSS of the LXX, which, of course, tell
us nothing of the Hebrew text of the time, but only
reveal a stage in the history of the Greek version. For
the Hebrew text we have the important Latin transla
tion of the Vulgate, prepared by Jerome in the end of
the fourth and beginning of the fifth centuries. It was
made directly from the Hebrew, and ultimately super
seded the Old Latin in the Western Church. It repre
sents a Hebrew original varying but little from the
MT ; and is of great use for determining the minor
divergences which were found within the range of the
standard recension about 250 years after its formation.
From Jewish tradition we have for this period the
evidence of the Targums Aramaic translations of the
OT for use in the synagogues and the numerous
citations in the Talmud and the Rabbinical literature
generally. All these tell the same tale of a dominant
standard text, with slight variations, which may partly
go back to pre-Christian times. A comparison of the
Rabbinical quotations with the Targums and the older

2 a

42

CANON AND TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

versions seems to show that ancient readings which
have since been eliminated from the MS tradition
were still in currency in influential MSS of the Tal-
mudic age.

During all this time the scribes were gradually per
fecting their organisation, and securing a firmer control
of the traditional text. A few intentional but trivial
manipulations of the consonantal text (Tiqqune
Sopherim) with which they are credited must belong
to a very early age, before the consonantal text had
acquired the sanctity which caused its very mistakes
to be respected. At a later time they contented them
selves with indicating by critical marks (puncia extra-
ordinaria, etc.) readings which were defective or doubt
ful ; and still later with specifying the " reading "
(Qere) to be followed in the synagogue, while the
"written" text (KHltib) was left inviolate. Lists of
these and many other peculiarities of the sacred text
were accumulated and handed down by rote ; strict
ceremonial rules were imposed on the copyists of
biblical MSS ; standard codices were edited by which
the correctness of any MS was to bo tested ; and
everything that human ingenuity could suggest was
done to bring about complete uniformity in the MS
text. This culminated in the work of the Massoretic
schools, which marks the transition to the final phase
of the Hebrew text.

III. The word Massora (p. 30) meant at first simply
"tradition" in general, but in technical usage it came to
be restricted to that branch of tradition which concerned
itself with maintaining the purity of the sacred text :
the Massoretes were the successors of the Sopherim or
scribes. The history of the movement is still in many
points obscure ; and it is impossible here to give any
adequate account of its character. It nourished both
in Babylonia and in Palestine (Tiberias) in the cen
turies that followed the completion of the Talmud ;
and its most noteworthy achievement was the gradual
elaboration (during the seventh and following centuries)
of a system of vowel notation, which was carried on
simultaneously in these two centres of .Jewish learning.
The Babylonian schools seem to have been eclipsed by
that of Tiberias ; and accordingly the Tiberian punctua
tion so completely displaced tho rival systems of
Babylonia that until the important discoveries of MSS
within the last eighty years all knowledge of the latter
was lost in Europe. The two great luminaries of tho
school of Tiberias in the tenth century were Ben Asher
and Ben Naphtali, each of whom produced a standard
codex of the OT, with vowels and accents on the
Tiberian system, with minute differences in punctua
tion, but practically none in the consonantal text. The
text followed in Western MSS and all printed editions
is in the main that of Ben Asher, although several
readings of his rival Ben Naphtali are incorporated in
the received text. For the rest the Massora consists,
as has been said, of an immense congeries of observa
tions on peculiarities of the Hebrew text, the aim being
to provide an apparatus by which the smallest devia
tion from the authoritative text could be avoided or
instantly detected in the production of new copies.
At first these lists and notices were committed to
memory ; but gradually the practice was introduced
of writing them, partly on the margins (or between the
lines) and at the end of codices, and partly in separate
works.

It is only from the tenth century downwards that we
are able to trace the Hebrew text in extant MSS. The
oldest certainly dated MS is a Babylonian codex of
the Latter Prophets now in St. Petersburg, which boars
tho date 916. There are one or two which may prove

to be as much as a century older ? and there are many
bearing early dates the genuineness of whose epigraphs
is strongly suspected : among them the first copy of
the entire OT, which professes to be a transcript of the
lost codex of Ben Asher, and to have been written
A.D. 1008-10. The majority of the MSS. belong to the
thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. The
invention of printing in the fifteenth century was
quickly taken advantage of by the Jews for the propa
gation of their scriptures, the first complete edition
of the OT being published at Soncino in 1488. Tho
earliest printed editions were largely based on MSS
now lost; and their influence notably that of the
great Rabbinical Bible of Jacob ben Hayyim (1524-25)
and the Complutensian Polyglott (1514-17) has pro
foundly affected all subsequent editions, and has con
tributed materially to the uniformity of tho present
texlus receptus.

It is evident from this imperfect sketch of the history
of the text that no existing document or known re
cension can claim to represent the text of tho OT in
its original form. The alterations that have crept in
during the course of transmission may be classed under
two heads: inadvertent and intentional. (1) To the
class of inadvertent changes belong (a) all errors of
transcription, such as confusion of letters similar in
form or (when written to dictation) in sound ; accidental
omission or transposition of consonants ; repetition of
a word or group of letters already written (dittography) ;
longer omissions caused by the identical ending of two
sentences (homoioteleuton) and tho slipping of the
scribe s eye from the one he had just copied to the
other, (b) Errors of memory are sometimes respon
sible for the substitution of a synonym for the original
expression (like " say " for " speak "), or the addition
of a familiar phrase or epithet (as in " ark [of the
covenant] "), or the alteration or amplification of the
text in accordance with some well-known parallel
passage, (c) Errors of understanding are seen chiefly
in mistaken division of words and sentences, in mis
interpretation of abbreviations, and in incorporation
of marginal glosses in the text. In the last two classes
of error, however, it is impossible to draw the line
between unconscious and deliberate manipulation of
the text. (2) Conscious alterations of the text
naturally occurred most frequently in the early stages
of transmission, and cannot always be distinguished
from the processes of redaction in which many of the
OT books had their origin ; but that post-redactional
additions and corrections are actually found in the text
is shown in some cases by a comparison of the different
versions and in other cases is probable from internal
indications. A common form of expansion is the
introduction of explanatory glosses giving the accepted
interpretation of a difficult or ambiguous expression
in the authentic text (see Is. 3iZ>), or enhancing the
accuracy of a prediction by a reference to its supposed
fulfilment (Is. 7s6). Systematic correction of the text
occurs most frequently under the influence of dogmatic
or aesthetic tendencies (cf. the regular substitution in
tho books of Samuel of bosheth, " shame," for Baal in
the names Ishbosheth, Mephibosheth, with the original
names in Ch.) ; but occasionally under the impression
that tho traditional reading is wrong (thus in Gen. 22*
" seventh " in the Heb. is deliberately changed to
sixth" in Sam., LXX, and Syr.). It may be noted that
certain changes of this kind were introduced in the
synagogue reading (Qere) while the written text was
left untouched ; and on the other hand that Jewish
tradition preserved a knowledge of the fact that at
an earlier period they were made in the consonantal

CANON AND TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

text (Tiqqune Sopherim, above). In the detection of
both the above classes of alterations the versions often
render important service. If two textual witnesses
show a difference in the Hebrew original which can
be naturally traced to any of the causes just enumerated
the divergence is at once explained, and it will generally
be clear on which side the mistake lies and which is
the true reading. Or the mere omission in one text
of a passage found in the other, but unnecessary in
its context, may be a sufficient reason for doubting
its genuineness. Again, interpolation may reasonably
be suspected when a passa.ge occurs in two texts but
at differen places (e.g. 1 S. 2i-io is inserted by the
LXX in ihj middle of lz& of the Heb.) : the probable
explanation being that it originally stood in the margin
of some MSS and was taken into the text at the wrong
place. But the sources of error here mentioned may
often lead on internal grounds to an emendation even
where all textual witnesses support the doubtful
reading.

In conclusion, the broad results of textual criticism
as applied to the OT writings may bo briefly summed
up as follows : (1) It should bo clearly understood
that all witnesses to the text exhibit a fundamental
agreement. An extreme case of divergence is the
difference between the MT and the LXX in the Book
of Jeremiah ; but even hero it is reckoned that the
element common to the two recensions amounts to
about seven-eighths of the whole. The normal rela
tion of the LXX to the MT is such that in the
majority of books the differences are mostly differ
ences of detail, which leave the broad features of
the text, the characteristics of the style, and the
essential meaning of the writers almost unaffected.
(2) Of all accessible forms of the text the MT is
on the whole the most reliable, and the most faithful
to what must have been the Hebrew original. That
it often misrepresents the original, that it stands in
need of criticism and correction, and that in innumer
able instances it can be corrected by the help of
the versions and especially of the LXX, are facts

which cannot bo too strongly emphasized. But it
remains true that the MT has preserved better than
any other the characteristics and phraseology of the
original documents, and is the only secure foundation
for a critical reconstruction of the OT text. (3) The
MT, even when corrected by the help of the versions
and all other external aids, frequently yields a text
which cannot pobsibly be original. In a considerable
number of passages which are unintelligible on account
of textual corruption, the corruption is either shared
by all the versions, or is icplaced by something equally
or more unintelligible. This means, of course, that
the text contains defects which are of older standing
than the date of any version. On these we have no
sort of external check except in the few cases where a
passage is repeated within the OT itself (parallel pas
sages in S.-K. and Ch. ; 2 S. 22 -Ps. 18 ; 2 K. 18i 3 -
20i9 = Is. 36-39 ; Is. 22-5 ---Mi. 4i-5 ; etc.). To bridge
the gulf that separates the original autographs from
the oldest externally authenticated text we have, as a
rule, no resource but the precarious method of con
jectural emendation, which has undoubtedly a wider
scope than is permissible in the case of the NT. But
arbitrary and unmethodical conjecture is as little
legitimate in OT as in NT criticism. Conjecture is
not to be resorted to unless all available documentary
evidence fails to yield a satisfactory result ; and no
emendation of this kind can command confidence unless
it gives a reading from which the actual Hebrew, as
well as the versional variants, can be derived in
accordance with the ascertained tendencies to change
and error to which editors and copyists were subject
in ancient times.

Literature. Ryle, The Canon of the OT ; W. R.
Smith, The OT in the Jewish Church 2 ; Wildeboer,
The Origin of the Canon of the OT ; Buhl, Canon
and Text of the OT ; Kenyon, Our Bible and the
Ancient Manuscripts ; Weir, A Short History of
the Hebrew Text of the OT ; Geden, Outlines of In
troduction to the Hebrew Bible ; articles in EB, EBi.,
HDB, HSDB.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT

LITERATURE

BY THE EDITOR

THIS article provides a bare skeleton of the literary
development, and should be supplemented at every
point by the introductions to individual books and
groups of books. A description of the various literary
types in the OT is given in the article on " The Bible
as Literature."

Here as elsewhere literature is the expression of life,
and to understand it we must view it as the outcome
of experience, both collective and individual. A
history of Heb. literature cannot indeed bo written,
since materials are wanting. What is left to us in
the OT is but the remains of a much larger literature
now lost, it is to be feared, irretrievably (p. IS). Not-
larger only, but also much more varied ; for reduced
as it was by neglect and by the catastrophes through
which the nation passed, it was jest rioted still further
by the religious interest which guided the preservation
of what still remains (p. 40).

The origins unhappily are lost in obscurity. Tradi
tion credits Moses alike with the creation of the
nation and the origination of its literature. To him
belongs, it is true, the imperishable glory of creating
a national consciousness which fused the emancipated
Hebrew slaves into a people proudly aware of itself
us the chosen of Yahweh. But the claim that he
created not simply the nation and its religion, but also
its earliest literature, is far more dubious. Wo can
no longer regard him as the author of the Pentateuch
(pp. 121-124). This rejection of an ancient tradition is
due to no doubt whether Moses could write, but to
the actual phenomena of the Pentateuch, which are
irreconcilable with his authorship. Different scripts
had long been practised, books and documents had
long been familiar, and centuries before his time
Hammurabi had promulgated his famous code (pp. 51,
130). Comparison reveals a close parallelism with the
Book of the Covenant (Ex. 2022-2333), which shows
that Israel was profoundly indebted for its social law
to earlier civilisation, as we knew that it was indebted
for religious institutions. Moses therefore had material
from which he might have drawn up legislation. Yet
we cannot identify any composition of Moses in the
Pentateuch. Probably both the Decalogue and the
Book of the Covenant incorporate Mosaic legislation.
But we can feel no confidence that these principles
and precepts received literary form in the wilderness.
The Book of the Covenant, which with Ex. 3414-26
constitutes the earliest stratum of legislation, pre
supposes a people settled in Canaan and practising
agriculture. Even the Decalogue in what would
presumably be its original form ten short command
ments of the type still preserved in the first, sixth,
seventh, eighth, and ninth, without expansion or
explanation apparently contains post-Mosaic ele
ments (p. 184). Such a snatch of song as Ex. 15i may

well go back to Moses, though the poem which follows
is later than his time.

Analogy suggests that poetical utterances of this kind
constituted the beginning of Heb. literature. Some
of these may have had a still earlier origin, and re
ferred to more ancient, perhaps prehistoric, peoples.
The Song of Lainech, the curse on C anaan, the blessing
of Shem and Japhet, may be earlier than Moses ; the
song of the well (Nu. 21i7f.), and possibly, though less
probably, the sarcastic verses on Sihon (2127-30), no
later than his time. After the conquest we have similar
utterances, such as Joshua s apostrophe to the sun
and moon (Jos. lOisf.). The stream begins to flow
with greater fulness in the time of the Judges. The
Song of Deborah ( Jg. 5) is our finest example ; but more
poems of the type no doubt existed, for others also
were wont to rehearse Yahweh s mighty acts. In its
present form the Blessing of Jacob (Gen. 49*) is hardly
earlier than the reitm of David, but the tribnl delinea
tions in it seem in some instances to be older than the
monarchy. To the same period belong the riddle of
Samson (Jg. 14i4) and his boast over his triumph at
Lelii (15i6). Our first specimen of another type meets
us in the fable of Jotham (Jg. 98-is ; c/. 2 K. 14g).
From the time of Saul we have the couplet which
roused his jealousy over David s exploits (1 S. 187).
The lament on Saul and Jonathan (2 S. 119-27) and
the elegy on Abner (333f.) are the only compositions
of David to the authenticity of which no reasonable
doubt attaches. Tradition assigns to him a large
number of Pss. This question is dealt with elsewhere
(pp. 367f.); here a few words must suffice. It is not
unlikely that, with his fine poetical genius and his
zeal for the service of Yahweh, David praised Him
not on his harp only, but with his pen. But this
carries us a very little way towards the position that
any poems of his are preserved in the Psalter. The
late date at which the book was compiled , the origin
of even the earliest collections in it after the Exile ;
the composition of the great majority of Pss. in the
Persian or Greek periods ; the advanced stase of re
ligious reflection which they represent, and their de
veloped religious feeling, combine to make it im
probable that more than a very few Davidic Pss.
can have survived, and, indeed, to render the presence
of any in our Psalter very questionable. Nor, admit
ting that some have been included, have we any reliable
criteria for determining which these are.

With the reign of Solomon a new era opens in the
development of Israel. Up to this time there had been
all too little of that settled peace which should give
culture its opportunity. The disintegration of tho
nation, its hard struggle to maintain its hold on Canaan,
the wars with surrounding peoples, and above all with
the Philistines, civil strife again and again renewed,

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE

45

combined to koep the Hebrews physically fit but
intellectually backward. David had given them rest
from their enemies, and Solomon s reign was one of
peace. The older forms of literature continued to be
Cultivated, but there were new and far-reaching de
velopments. There is probably some basis for the
tradition which ascribes many proverbs and songs to
Solomon, and sayings concerning plants and animals.
Possibly some of his aphorisms may be found in the
Book of Proverbs (p. 397). The oracles of Balaam
(Nu. 23f.) in their earliest form may belong to this
period. We may plausibly assign to it also the collec
tion of Heb. poetry known as the Book of Jashar, which
seems to have contained Solomon s striking saying,
recovered from the LXX (p. 298), at the dedication of
the Temple, together with Jos. 10i2f. and 2 S. 119-27.
A similar collection may have been " The Book of the
Wars of Yahweh" (Nu. 21 14*), but we have no evidence
as to its date.

Solomon s reign, however, is specially notable as
that in which historical literature probably took its
rise. Great historical events, stories as to popular
heroes and thrilling exploits, circulated no doubt long
before on the lips of the people. But their reduction
to writing had probably not taken place up to this
time. And when history began to be written, it was,
wo may surmise, the story of the immediate past.
The story of David s court (2 S. 9-20, with 1 K. If.)
exhibits such intimate knowledge of the circumstances
that it is generally attributed to a contemporary
possibly, as Duhm suggests, Abiathar. This may
have given the impulse to record the earlier history.
The story of Samuel, Saul, and David, which we find
in the most ancient strata of 1 S. 12 S. 8, was, it may
be, the first to be written. The oldest records of the
conquest and the Judges may have been next col
lected, and not so much later would come the Penta-
teuchal document J in its primitive form, written
in Judah. The parallel document E was written in
the Northern Kingdom probably before the middle of
the eighth century. E includes the Book of the
Covenant, and J the briefer legislation (Ex. 34io-26).
In the historical books we find a combination of story
and of annals. As is natural, we scarcely meet with
the latter before the reign of Soiomoii, though we have
some examples from the reign of David. With the
establishment of an Oriental despotism in Israel the
court chronicler began to play a prominent part.
Although the extracts from the State annals are much
less fascinating than the popular stories, a more liberal
use of them in our historical books would have supplied
the historian with invaluable information. The lead
ing sanctuaries no doubt also had their chroniclers, and
we have important material from them as to events
connected with the Temple. Fortunately the official
did not stifle the popular element, and even the Book
of Kings is redeemed from being a collection of official
records by the prophetic and other stories, notably
those of Elijah and Elisha.

_So far as we know, Elijah and Elisha committed
nothing to writing. Indeed we can hardly think of
them as uttering sustained addresses ; their recorded
words arc brief and weighty. But in the middle of
the eighth century, when Assyria was about to inter
vene once more in the politics of Palestine, the era
of the literary prophets opens. \Vithin a brief period
Amos and Hosea laboured in the Northern Kingdom,
Isaiah and Micah in the Southern. Prophecy still
remains primarily oral. It is by direct speech to them
that the prophet seeks to influence his people. But
if the prophet is silenced, as Amos, if met with in

credulity, as Isaiah, ho might commit to writing what
he was not permitted to utter, or record for future
vindication the word at present scouted by incredulity.
Jeremiah had been preaching long years before his
oracles were collected by himself and read to the
public. Whatever may have been the impulse which
led to the record being made, we have gained im
measurably by it ; for it is in the prophetic writings
more than anywhere else that we find the inmost
secret of Israel s religion. Prophecy was, of course,
largely influenced by the political situation. It is
when some great work of Yahweh is on the eve of
being accomplished that the sensitive instinct of the
prophet divines and foretells the approaching judgment.
Hence the great prophets of the eighth century begin
their work when the Assyrian peril is about to re
appear. But it would invert the true relation to
suppose that they first became aware of the approach
ing storm and then cast about to find a reason. Rather
they started from the conviction of Yahweh s righteous
ness and a consciousness of His people s sin, deduced
from this that judgment was inevitable, and read the
political situation in the light of this moral certainty.
The Northern Kingdom fell, and the essential Israel
was concentrated in Judah. Some precious fragments
of the Northern literature survived the catastrophe,
notably the Hexateuchal document E and the pro
phecies of Hosea, and no doubt several narratives in
the historical books, especially the histories of Elijah
and Elisha. With the death of Isaiah prophecy
became dumb for a season. In the fanatical reaction
which stained the reign of Manassch the representa
tives of the higher religion were silenced, though
fragments of prophecy (e..<j. Mic. 61-8) may be pre
served to us from that period. See further pp. 88f.

But though public utterance was suppressed and
Jerusalem ran with the blood of the martyrs, while
old heathen worships flourished and new cults were
borrowed from the victorious Assyria, the prophetic
party was not inactive. The teaching of the eighth-
century prophets had been concerned in the main
with social righteousness as the nation s best expres
sion of loyalty to its God. But alongside of this, and
certainly not without some sympathy from the
prophets, there was a movement more priestly in
origin for the reform of the cultus. These two ten
dencies combined to produce the Book of the Law
found in the Temple by Hilkiah, which formed the
basis of Josiah s Reformation. This is usually, and
in all probability correctly, identified with the original
Deuteronomy. This hardly included more than
Dt. 5-28 with 28, and indeed not the whole of this.
While it was the practical embodiment of the pro
phetic teaching in the preceding century, it developed
the legislation which already existed in the Book of
the Covenant. It secured the centralisation of the
worship at Jerusalem and the suppression of the local
sanctuaries, and thus created a problem, important
for the history of the literature, as to the disposal of
the priests at the disestablished sanctuaries. Its
acceptance by the people at the instigation of Josiah
made Judah a people of the Law as it had never been
before. Its acceptance might also be regarded as the
first step towards the formation of the OT Canon.
Its doctrine of the correspondence between conduct
and fortune accentuated the problem created by the
suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the
wicked, to the discussion of which some of the greatest
Heb. literature is devoted. It profoundly influenced
also the writing of history, giving the historians and
historical editors a characteristic point of view. Ita

46

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE

literary influence is cilso very marked. There is a
peculiar Deutcronomistic style, as well as point of
view, and both of these are very noticeable in much
of the later literature (see pp. 74f. ; 89f. ; 120-131).

But before the Law-book had been read prophecy
had again found utterance. Nahum wrote his im
passioned song of triumph over the approaching de
struction of Nineveh shortly before the downfall of
Assyria, c. (>07 B.C. About t\vonty years before the
collapse of the Assyrian Empire, the tidings that vast
hordes of Scythians were on the march and drawing
nearer and nearer, filled the minds of men with dread.
Zephaniah was stimulated by their approach to an
nounce that the Day of Yahweh was at hand. This
conception, taken over from popular belief by Amos
and his successors and transformed in the process,
received from Zephaniah its most elaborate expression.
In him we see the hints of an apocalyptic strain which,
largely through Ezekiel s influence, was to become
more and more prominent in prophecy (p. 432) ; though
prophecy did not develop into apocalyptic in the full
sense till the Book of Daniel. The coming of the
Scythians was also the theme of Jeremiah s early
prophecies, though when ho collected and published
his oracles, more than twenty years later, the Scythian
danger had passed, and the foe from the north was
identified with the Babylonians. His ministry con
tinued till after the dent ruction of Jerusalem, em
bracing a period of more than forty years. His
prophecies were collected in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim ; and when the king had burnt the roll,
its contents were reproduced and many like words
were added. We have authentic prophecies from the
later period of his life, which were probably united
with the earlier collection by his secretary, Baruch,
to whom we presumably owe many of the biographical
sections contained in our book. The relationship
between Jeremiah and Deuteronomy presents an intri
cate problem. We may assume that Jeremiah had
no hand in its composition, and his ministry began
some years before its discovery. It would seem, then,
that there could have been no direct influence on either
side between his pro-Reformation prophecies and the
Law-book. But wo cannot guarantee that these
prophecies are preserved for us in their original form,
and have been unaffected by the Law-book, for they
were not written down till some fifteen years after
its publication. If from the first Jeremiah was out of
sympathy with the reformers, and felt that the pen of
its lying scribes had wrought falsely (Jer. 8s*, p 474),
then w y e could not anticipate that his writings would
betray much trace of its influence. But if, as the
present writer believes, he welcomed the book on its
publication and advocated its reforms, though later he
realised that the hurt of the people had been healed
too lightly, he may well have been considerably in
fluenced by it. It is of course unquestionable that
our Book of Jeremiah exhibits a strong Deuteronomic
colouring ; but the book has been much glossed and
expanded, and it is in these later additions that this
colouring is most deeply marked. The place of the
greatest of the prophets in the history of religion is
among the highest, but his influence on the later
canonical literature was less profound. His writings
contain not only his addresses to the people, but the
utterances of his intercourse with God. His experi
ence of religion as intimate fellowship with a personal
God was reflected in many of the Pss. He is not to
be identified with the Servant of Yahweh, but the de
lineation of the Servant borrows some traits from his
personality and career. He influenced Ezekiel, though

perhaps less than is often supposed, and the two men
are in truth very dissimilar (see pp. 72f. ; 90).

The fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and the exile to
Babylon had momentous consequences, not simply for
religious and political life (pp. 90f . ), but for the develop
ment of literature. The catastrophe was, of course,
variously interpreted. Many considered themselves ab
solved from their allegiance to Yahweh. whose inability
or unwillingness to save His people had been demon
strated by the fate which had overtaken them. But
those to whom the future belonged, recognised that
the prophetic interpretation of history and forecast
of Judah s doom had been justified by the event.
They did not believe, however, that puni -iinent was
Yahweh s last word to them. Judah would be brought
back again to her own land, there to live in righteous
ness and in peace. It was therefore necessary to read
aright the lessons of the past, to minister to the present
and prepare for the future. No longer preoccupied
with politics, they had a larger opportunity for litera
ture, and this was utilised in various ways. First it
was necessary to save as much as possible from the
wreck. The legislation, the narrative and prophetic
literature had to be collected, partly that what was
intrinsically so precious should not be lost, partly
that it might servo in the home or in the religious
assemblies, for instruction, warning, and encourage
ment. During this period Judges, Samuel, and Kings
probably assumed in large measure their present form,
though at some points they exhibit evidence of later
revision and expansion. The laws had to be codified,
and the ritual, which could no longer be practised, to
be put on record for future use. The standpoint from
which much of the rewriting was undertaken was
that of Dt., and the Books of Kings in particular show
this influence in a very marked degree.

The leader, who more than any other man met the
need of the time, passing judgment on Israel s apostate
history and announcing its overthrow, changing his
note to one of consolation when the blow had fallen,
foretelling the blessed future and preparing for it, was
Ezekiel (pp. 91, 131). Prophecy became in his hands
the exposition of a systematic theology ; it was more
literary and less oratorical, more laboured and less spon
taneous than the utterances of his predecessors. He
also foreshadows the transformation of prophecy into
apocalyptic. This is a development whose beginnings
may be traced in Zephaniah, but in Ezekiel the signs
of it are clearer and more abundant. The study of
earlier prophecy, to combine its varied forecasts into
a coherent scheme, was characteristic of apocalyptic.
So was its conviction of the Divine transcendence,
and its interpolation between God and man of angelic
orders as instruments of His government. Similarly
its assiirance that God s intervention would be catas
trophic when it came, rather than take the form of an
evolution from the existing political situation. The
anticipation was also found that the heathen would
come to assail God s people in the Holy Land, and
would be overthrown by a stroke of God without need
for Israel to fight in self-defence. It need hardly be
said that Ezekiel is a prophet rather than an apoca-
lyptist, and that a wide gulf lies between his book
and such works as Daniel and Enoch. But some of
the features most characteristic of apocalyptic are
present in his writings in a rudimentary form.

In another and more important respect Ezekiel
exercised a great influence on the later development.
The codification of the law would presumably have
proceeded apart from him, as is shown by the com
pilation of the Holiness Code (pp. 129f .). But Ezekiel s

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE

47

uketch of a religious constitution for the community on
its return provided the bridge between Deuteronomy
and the Priestly Code. In particular his solution of the
problem created by the disestablishment of the priest
hood of the high places, directly prepared the way for
the distinction between priests and Levites so charac
teristic of P. This constitutes one of the decisive
proofs that P is later than Ezekiel (p. 129). He
created the distinction between the priests and Levites
which was then carried back in P to the time of Moses,
and treated not as a degradation from the priesthood
for apostasy, but as a distinction elevating Levi above
the other tribes.

Another problem which was created by the miseries
of the people which culminated in the Exile was that of
the suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the
wicked (pp. 92, 94). Touched upon by Jeremiah (12r),
it is explicitly discussed by Habakkuk ; it is the subject
of the fourth Servant Poem (Is. 52i3-53i2). Ezekiel
had met the complaint of the people that the fathers
had eaten sour grapes and the children s teeth were
set on edge by roundly denying that this implied
challenge of Yahweh s righteousness had anysubstanco:
each suffered for his own sin, there was neither vicarious
penalty nor vicarious reward. It is the problem from
which the author of Job starts, though it is a mistake
to suppose that the author s main purpose was to
discuss it or discover the solution. His interest is
rather concentrated on the history of Job s soul, as,
conscious of his own innocence, he seeks to adjust his
relations with God. The problem is the theme of
some of the Pss., notably Pss. 37, 49, 73. It is touched
upon by several of the post-exilic prophets, it provides
a basis for the pessimism of Ecclesiastes, and is the
dark background for the apocalyptic hope of Daniel.
It has been commonly supposed that our first literary-
expression of the problem is to be found in Hababkuk,
and that he wrote in the reign of Jehoiakim, when
the Chaldeans were entering upon their great career
of conquest. But IS-TI in its present text seems to
presuppose a different situation from the rest of
Hab. If. Accordingly the present writer prefers to
consider that, while 1.5-n is pre-exilic. the main body
of the prophecy is exilic, and may be dated about
560-550 (see The Problem of Suffering in the OT.
pp. 151-171). (The author of the commentary agrees
with this position, except that ho assigns more to the
pre-exilic prophecy.) Hab. 3 is a post-exilic Ps.

To the close of the Exile we should assign the great
prophecy of the anonymous poet to whom we owe
Is. 40-55 (pp. 91f.). The circumstances which it pre
supposes are wholly different from those of Isaiah s
own time. The Jews are in exile, Jerusalem and the
Temple are in ruins ; Babylon, not Assyria, is the great
oppressing empire ; but her downfall is near, and the
restoration of God s people to Palestine is at hand, for
Cyrus has already begun his career of conquest, and
Babylon will soon fall before him. It was natural that
the work of the Second Isaiah should, in the earlier
critical period, be regarded as extending over the whole
of the last twenty-seven chapters (40-66), though sug
gestions that these chapters were not a unity were
occasionally heard. Even then, however, there was
little justification for the phrase "two Isaiahs" as
representing the real critical view. For there are some
related sections in Is. 1-39 which spring out of the
same situation (13i-1423 and 2lio), and there were
other sections (24-27 and 34f.) which were obviously
much later than Isaiah s time. More recent criticism
has detected a much larger body of non-Isaianic
matter, though in the present writer s judgment it

has tended to extreme views both with reference to
the proportion of non-Isaianic matter in Is. 139 and
the extensive interpolation it discovers in genuine
Isaianic oracles. It must of course bo recognised
that, once the presence of a large non-Isaianic element
in the book is conceded, the question of authorship and
date of other sections ought not to be prejudiced in
the traditional direction by their inclusion in a book
which bears Isaiah s name. So far as 40-06 is con
cerned, Duhm s verdict that the work of the Second
Isaiah does not extend beyond 55 has been very widely
accepted. Opinion is more divided on two other
questions. Duhin holds that the four so-called Servant
of Yahwch Poems (Is. 40i-4, 49i-6, 504-g, 52 13-
53i2) were written a good while later than the rest
of 4055. This view is also taken by several other
scholars. To some extent it is complicated with ques
tions as to the significance attached to the Servant.
Those who hold that the Servant of Yahweh in the
poems is an individual, naturally tend to regard the
poems as not by the Second Isaiah, who uses the term
" Servant " in a national and not an individual sense.
Those who regard the Servant as meaning the same
thing throughout, sometimes assert identity and some
times difference of authorship. The present writer
believes that the Servant stands throughout for the
actual nation of Israel ; but the nation is sometimes
depicted as it actually was, sometimes as looked at
from the ideal point of view in the light of its mission
and function. He is less confident as to the authorship
of the poems, but on the whole considers it probable
that they were written by the Second Isaiah, and in
serted by him in their present position. The other
point about which there is still debate touches Is.
56-66. Duhm assigns the whole section, apart from
interpolations, to a single author whom he calls the
Trite-Isaiah. It is questionable, however, whether
all can be attributed to the same hand. For the most
part it apparently belongs to much the same period,
the middle of the fifth century. But it is not easy
to believe that the same writer worked on such dif
ferent levels of literary excellence, and more probably
we have to do with a plurality of authors. To the
exilic period, and not to the first century B.C., as the
author of the commentary in this volume supposes,
the greater part of the Book of Lamentations probably
belongs. Lam. 2, 4 appear to be early exilic, Lam. 1
and 5 late exilic. Lam. 3 post-exilic. None of it seems
to be the work of Jeremiah himself. To the Exile
we should also assign the review of Israel s history,
in the light of prophetic theology which wo find in
the Song of Moses (Dt. 32).

According to the generally accepted chronology, the
return of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem took place
by permission of Cyrus in 536. Sixteen years later,
two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, began their
work. Of the former nothing need be said. He did
a useful work, but pedestrian and commonplace in
style, he ranks low in the scale of literary merit.
The latter is the author of Zech. 1-8 the remaining
chapters (9-14) being probably much later. Zechariah
is interesting as exhibiting some of the apocalyptic
features which characterise Ezekiel enigmatic em
blems, visions, angelic intermediaries, the anticipation
of God s decisive intervention to effect Israel s de
liverance. Malachi and Is. 56-66 (probably with the
exception of 63;-64i2) may be dated about the middle
of the fifth century. The latter contains some very
fine passages, notably 60-62 and the powerful though
morally repulsive description of Yahwoh s destruction
of Edom in 63i-6.

48

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE

Meanwhile a more momentous work had been
achieved by the author, or authors, of the Priestly
("ode, which is probably somewhat less extensive
than the portion of the Pentateuch included under
the symbol P. Wo have no precise knowledge as to
its origin. Earlier collections of ritual laws had been
made, such as the so-called Law of Holiness (pp. 129f .),
which was subsequently incorporated in P. P was
probably compiled after the return in 530, but some
time before the mission of Ezra in 458. If closer
dating is to be hazarded, 500-475 is as likely a period
as any. It is a very singular document ; some of
its more exaggerated peculiarities may belong to its
later sections, but if so they arc only exaggerations of
characteristic features. The words and phrases which
occur with marked frequency form a long list, and a
strange cast is given to the style by the frequency
of peculiar formula* of enumeration. Stereotyped
formulae are constantly repeated, statement after
statement is cast in precisely t lie s;i mo mould. Genea
logies are prominent, whole centuries being filled with
nothing but names and dates. Minute dating, statis
tics, specifications for building have a fascination for
the writer, but for the human element in the story ho
has little care. Ho expands into detail only when an
institution or law, or something in which his point of
view gives him a special interest, is connected with
the story. He has no interest in stories for their own
sake, he cares simply for the moral they point or the
regulation whose origin they recount. J and E, on
the contrary, take a frank interest in the human side
of their stories, and care much less for the things
which engross the mind of the priestly writer, whoso
instincts are those of an ecclesiastical lawyer. It
was this law, which largely codified the earlier ritual
practices, sometimes of immemorial antiquity, but
which also contained new and far-reaching provisions,
that was the basis of Ezra s reformation. Whether
the Law read to the people 071 that occasion was the
whole Pentateuch or merely the Priestly document
is still disputed. But, even if it was -only the latter,
not many years can have elapsed before the documents
were combined, and the Pentateuch, much as we have it,
came into existence. (See further pp. 125f., 129-131.)

With the Reformation Judaism was born. The
religion in its new development was stamped with
an exclusiveness which did not pass unchallenged.
To the literature of protest we should probably reckon
the exquisite story of Ruth (p. 22) and the wonderful
Book of Jonah. The former quotes against the harsh
dissolution of marriages with foreign wives the case of
Ruth, who, Moabitess though she was, displayed a
filial piety of the most beautiful typo, took Naomi s
God, country, and people for her own, and won the
admiration and love of Boaz, whose marriage with
her was so blest by God that from it David and the
royal house of Judah sprang. The latter is a parable
in which Jonah stands for Israel. The author recalls
his people to the mission assigned them by the Second
Isaiah of carrying to the heathen the knowledge of
the true God, pleads with them to abandon their
impatient longing for the destruction of the Gentile
world, affirms the readiness of heathenism to accept
thft truth, sets forth the boundless love and com
passion of God. The story is told with remarkable
skill, not a word is wasted, every phrase tells. It is
a perfect example of the short story, and its art
is nowhere more conspicuous than in its close
(p. 558). The Book of Obadiah offers an unpleasant
contrast.

On the Poetical and Wisdom Literature, which was

in the main a product of the post-exilic period, refer
ence may be made to what is said in the article de
voted to it (pp. 34 If.).

A few words may be added on the prophetic litera
ture between Ezra and the Maccabees. Wo see in
this period a still fuller development of the process
by which prophecy was transformed into apocalyptic.
Joel, Is. 24-27, 34f., Zech. 9-14, all in varying measure
exhibit this feature. Joel is still commonly regarded
as a unity, though recently various scholars have
revived the attempts to analyse it. Is. 24-27 is one
of the most striking examples of the later prophecy.
It has a whole scries of apocalyptic features, but, as
Duhm has shown, it is by no means a unity. The
worthiest occasion is the tremendous convulsion
occasioned by the movement of Alexander the Great
against Persia.

The Book of Daniel is our sole example in the OT
of an apocalypse in the full sense of the term, corre
sponding to the Book of Revelation in the NT. The
date of an apocalypse can often be fixed by observing
the point at which history, masquerading as predic
tion, passes over into real prediction. The author, as
a rule, publishes his work under the name of a much
more, ancient author. Accordingly the interval be
tween the alleged and the actual time of production
is past to the real, but future to the alleged, author.
The author, while writing the history of this interval,
has therefore to give it out as prediction. The pre
diction grows fuller and more precise as his own time
is approached. But inasmuch as it has to be carried
forward to the crisis, which lies in the real and not
the pretended future, at the point of transition the
language, hitherto so exact, becomes vague and the
forecast mistaken. By this consideration the Book of
Daniel may bo fixed within the period 168-105 B.C.
It is written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic.
Perhaps the whole book was written in Aramaic origin
ally, hut the beginning and the end of it were trans
lated into Hebrew to fit tho book for inclusion in the
OT Canon.

One notable feature in connexion with the prophetic
literature remains to be mentioned. The writings of
most of the earlier prophets have been expanded by
later editors. Sometimes prophecies of disaster have
been rounded off with happy endings, sometimes
adjusted to new conditions, often annotated with
glosses. Prophecies which circulated without a name
have by accident or design been incorporated with
the work of other authors.

Just as the publication of D led to a revision of the
older historical narratives, so it was felt to be necessary
to rewrite tho sacred history on the theory that tlie
completed Law was in operation, and to bring down
the story to the reforms of Ezra and Nohemiah. This
work was accomplished by the author to whom we
owe Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. For the history
of the kingdom he may have used an earlier revision of
tho older historical books made from a point of view
similar to his own. The date of the chronicler s work
was perhaps about 300 B.C. The main features of the
revision are as follows. No attempt is made to relate
the history in detail down to the time of David, the
period is covered simply with genealogies. In other
words, he shows no desire to supersede the canonical
records of the earlier history that we find in the Hex.,
Jg., and 1 S. Ho omits the unedifying incidents in
the reigns of David and Solomon, except the census
taken by David, which he attributes to the impulse
of Satan rather than of Yahweh. The history of the
Northern Kingdom is practically ignored except where

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE

49

the story of the Southern Kingdom made reference
to it necessary, since he evidently regarded its revolt
against the Davidic monarchy as cutting it off from
the true Israel. Great interest is exhibited in the
Temple, and especially in the musical services. The
author was probably a Levite who belonged to the
Temple choir. He constantly exhibits the working of
a mechanical law of retribution, and in this interest
frequently modifies the older narrative. He also
exhibits a fondness for systematically high numbers.
Chronicles has preserved some fragments of historical
information which would otherwise have perished, but
in the main its historical value is small. The latter
portion of the Chronicler s work is of special value
because it gives us the only information on the period
which we have in the OT, but especially for the largo
extracts it has embodied from the memoirs of Ezra
and Nehemiah and from State documents. The
curious fact that in the Heb. Bible Chronicles follows
Ezra and Nehemiah, and is thus the last book in the
OT, is no doubt due to the fact that it attained

canonical rank later. Ezra and Nehemiah were
needed to complete the story, whereas the period
covered by Chronicles was already represented by
the older historical literature. (See pp. 75-77.)

Finally we have the Book of Esther (p. 22). This was
probably written in the later Maccabean period, when
the success of the Jews had enhanced their pride, and
the wrongs they had suffered had embittered their
resentment against the Gentiles, while the nobler
enthusiasm of the great days of Judas had died down,
and the secular had replaced the high religious tone.
The story is characterised by so many improbabilities
and inconsistencies that it can hardly be regarded as
in any sense historical. The LXX contains many
passages which are not found in the Heb. According
to the practicaJly unanimous verdict of scholars, these
are later additions. This view is in all probability
right, though the author of the commentary in this
volume considers the LXX to be more original.

Literature. See the bibliography on Biblical Intro
duction in the " General Bibliographies."

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH

ISRAEL

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THE MATIOH8 COHTEMPOEA27

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52

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

acceptance of whiah enabled them to produce a re
ligious literature unrivalled by that of any other
people.

During the reigns of the later Icings of the 1st
Dynasty of Babylon there are signs of growing weak
ness. At last, in the reign of Samsu-ditana, the
eleventh king of the line, an invasion of Hittites from
Asia Minor resulted in the capture and sack of Babylon
(c. 1754 B.C.). The Hittites soon retired, but their
retirement did not mean freedom for Babylonia. For
some time before the Hittite invasion, raiding bands
of Kassitcs, who were Tndo-Europeans by race, had
been coming from the mountains east of the Tigris.
At first they were held in check, but on the fall of
Babvlon they entered the country in greater numbers,
and" established themselves at Babylon (c. 1750).
Thus began the Kassitc Dynasty, which lasted for
576 years.

While the advent of the Kassites must at first have
caused some disturbance, it does not appear to have
brought about any considerable alteration in the
internal condition of Babylonia. They gradually
adopted the Babylonian culture, which was so much
higher than their own ; and the records of the period,
which are, unfortunately, very scanty, indicate that
while, on the whole, the Kassito kings were capable
administrators, no one of them has to his credit any
great achievement. But while the days of Baby
lonia s greatest power had gone by, she was still a
strong kingdom, and, as is shown by specimens of the
diplomatic correspondence of the Egyptian and Baby
lonian courts, which have been preserved in the
Amama Collection, she still had a share in the conduct
of international affairs. In Palestine, however, her
influence gradually declined, and her place there was
taken by Egypt, to which country we must now turn
our attention.

II. The Egyptian Period. The country of Egypt
occupies the NE. corner of Africa. Its native name
was " Kimet " i.e. " The Black (Country) " in
allusion to the colour of the soil. The name " Egypt "
comes from the Greek, and is of obscure origin. The
shape of the country has been aptly likened to a fan,
the handle being formed by the valley of the Nile,
S. of Memphis, and the fan itself by the Nile Delta.
It is a small country, for if the deserts on the E. and
W. be left out of the calculation, its area is not much
more than 13,000 square miles. Its most important
physical feature is the river Nile. Not only did it
constitute the chief highway for traffic, but its annual
overflow, caused by the melt ing of snows and by the
heavy spring rains, left a deposit of rich mud as the
floods dried up. The more extensive the inundation,
the greater the fertilisation. The Egyptians also
assisted Nature as much as possible by a system of
canals, dykes, and pumps ; and agriculture, which
normally afforded good returns, became the main
occupation of the people. In the population of the
country there were several distinct elements. The
early inhabitants of Upper (i.e. South) Egypt, whose
remains can be traced back to Neolithic times, seem
to have entered the Nile Valley from the S. or SE.,
and to be connected racially with the Ethiopians.
In Lower Egypt there appears to have been a mingling
of two races. On the one hand, there were people of
Semitic type, who came from Arabia and contributed
the Semitic elements so noticeable in the Egyptian
religion and language ; on the other hand, there was
an element of " Mediterranean " type, related to the
ancient Cretans, which played an ever-increasing part
in the development of Egyptian civilisation. These

three elements were gradually welded together to
form the Egyptian people.

It will be impossible to make more than passing
allusions to Egyptian civilisation, but a few words
may be said here about the script. Originally Egyptian
writing was pictographic. Each sign stood for a
complete word. In course of time certain signs,
representing different sounds, came to be used in
various combinations as syllables ; and finally, signs
denoting single consonants were employed. In all
there were between six and seven hundred signs, but
very many of them were not in regular use. In addi
tion to the three classes of signs there were three types
of script : the " hieroglyphic," which was always
used for monumental inscriptions and never lost its
pictorial character; the " hieratic," made up of such
abbreviations of the hieroglyphic as were convenient
for writing on papyrus ; and the " demotic," or
popular, in which the signs were still further abbre
viated for ordinary use.

Corresponding to the difference of races, Egypt
was for a long time divided into two kingdoms, the
one in the north and the other in the south. For
centuries these two kingdoms existed side by side ;
and it would seem that at first, owing, probably, to
the presence of the " Mediterranean " element in the
population, the superiority in civilisation lay with the
northern kingdom. Gradually, however, the strength
of the south grew until it was able to conquer the
north. A united kingdom was formed, and the first
of the thirty-one dynasties, into which the rulers of
Egypt are divided, was established. The date of this
event is uncertain : it cannot be placed much later
than c. 3500 B.C.. and it may be earlier.

The history of the centuries which elapsed between
this date and the Hyksos invasion cannot be written
here. We must pass over the period of the " Old
Kingdom," comprising Dynasties I-VI (c. 3500 to
C. i 500), pausing only to remind the reader that this
was the age of the builders of the Pyramids the royal
tombs which command universal admiration, not
merely for their size, but also for the proofs which their
de-sign and construction afford of the skill and accurate
scientific knowledge of their builders. Nor can we
stay to describe the " Middle Kingdom," which began,
after several centuries of great unsettlement, when
civil war was common and culture degenerated, with
the rise of the Xlth Dynasty, and during which,
especially under the Xllth Dynasty (established
c. 2000), Egypt was so prosperous that the era was
often regarded in after days as a " golden age."
Again, however, as at the close of the " Old Kingdom,"
a period of decline set in ; the kings of the Xlllth
and XlVth Dynasties are little more than names to
us ; and the confusion and obscurity of the time are
increased by the sudden invasion of Egypt from the
east by the " Hyksos." or " Shepherd Kings." These
invaders established themselves in the Delta. There
has been much speculation as to their race. It is
probable that they were, in the main, Semites, with
a considerable admixture of other racial elements.
The date of the invasion is also doubtful, but it cannot
have been much later than 1800.

At this point we must turn aside from our survey of
the history of Egypt to give a brief account of the
origins of a number of other peoples who had already
made their appearance in the Near East, and who were
destined to play parts of greater or less importance
in the immediate or more remote future.

To the north of Babylonia lies the country of
Assyria so called from Asshur, the earliest Assyrian

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

centre and capital. The boundaries of the country
were formed on the E. and N. by the mountains of
Kurdistan and Armenia ; on the S. and W. they cannot
be strictly defined. The character of the co untry is
entirely different from that of Babylonia. On the E.
of the Tigris are numerous ranges of hills with well-
watered valleys between ; on the W. the supply of
water is much poorer. This explains the fact that all
the important cities of Assyria, with the exception of
Asshur, were situated on the E. of the Tigris. As a
whole, the fertility of Assyria was far below that of
Babylonia.

The predominant element in the population was
Semitic, and we may suppose that Assyria shared
with Babylonia in the migration of Semites from Arabia
which took place in the fourth millennium B.C. The
Assyrian Semites, reinforced, no doubt, from time to
time, by fresh arrivals of their kinsfolk from Arabia
and Babylonia, gradually mingled with and absorbed
the earlier population. The nation which resulted
from the combination of those two elements, while
speaking the same language as the Babylonians
with, of course, variations of dialect yet differed
from them in many respects. They were essentially
a military people. By war they lived, and their
military activities left them no time for the develop
ment of an independent culture. In architecture and
sculpture they showed originality, but their religion
and literature, together with other elements of culture,
they borrowed from Babylonia. Their chief centre
in earliest times was Asshur, originally a city-state
which gradually extended its influence until it became
the capital of the country. It is not unlikely that the
various cities at first formed a confederacy, with Asshur
at its head. Our knowledge of Assyrian history does
not begin till towards the close of the third millennium
B.C., when we hear of the priest-kings, Ushpia and
Kikia, strengthening Asshur s defences, and building
the Temple of Ashir, its god. According to tradition,
the actual founder of the kingdom of Assyria was Bel-
bani, a somewhat later ruler. Towards the end of
the third millennium the Assyrian king, Ilu-shuma,
came into conflict with Sumu-abu, the founder of the
1st Dynasty of Babylon. Whether Ilu-shuma s
resistance was successful or not we cannot say. Prob
ably Assyria was weakened, for we find her tributary
to Babylon in the reign of Khammurabi (c. 1950).
The fall of the 1st Dynasty of Babylon, however, made
Assyria, at least for a time, independent.

In N. Mesopotamia, between the upper waters of
the Tigris and the Euphrates, lay the country of
Mitanni. As in the case of its more famous neigh
bours, its origins are unknown, and it does not come
into the light of history until about the middle of the
fifteenth century B.C., when there reigned the first of
a number of kings whose names have been preserved
in the tablets of Boghaz-keui and Tell ei-Amarna.
There is little doubt that these royal names are of
Aryan type, and some of the Mitannian gods were
Aryan. It is not unlikely that these kings were the
heads of an Aryan aristocracy which had established
itself in Mitanni in the same way, and about the same
time, as the Kassites, to whom they were probably
akin, gained control of Babylonia. The bulk of the
population may well have been of the same stock as
the earliest inhabitants of Assyria, with the addition,
perhaps, of a small Semitic element.

It was stated above that the fall of the 1st Dynasty
of Babylon was, in large measure, due to an invasion
of Hittites (c. 1754). This is the first appearance of
the Hittites in history. Their origin and racial con-

53

nexions are obscure. From the presence of mountain
deities in their pantheon, and from certain charac
teristics of their dress, it has been inferred that their
early home was in the mountains ; but whether they
were indigenous to Asia Minor, as some suppose, or
whether they migrated thither from the east, cannot
at present be determined. Their physical character
istics have long been familiar from their own and from
Egyptian monuments ; but in spite of numerous
references to them in the OT, their history was almost
a blank until the late Dr. VVinckler discovered the royal
archives at Boghaz-keui. From thep.e it has been
possible to reconstruct their history for a period of
some two hundred years, during which they attained
to the height of their power. The founder of the
empire, and its greatest king, was Shubbiluliuma, who,
about the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C.,
united a number of independent Hittite states under
his rule. His capital, Khatti (Boghaz-keui) was
situated E. of the Halys, in the Anatolian plateau.
In civilisation the Hittites reached a high level. They
owed much to Babylonia, though they were more than
mere slavish imitators. Quite early they adopted the
cuneiform script, and the Boghaz-keui archives are
all written in cuneiform, the language employed being
sometimes Hittite and sometimes Babylonian. Their
own system of writing was pictographic, and they
always used it for inscriptions on their monuments.

Another important country was that known to the
Babylonians as Amurru. Io is often mentioned in the
cuneiform inscriptions, and we have already seen that
immigrants into Babylonia from Amurru founded the
1st Dynasty of Babylon (c. 2050). In the OT the name
appears frequently in the form " Amorite," and to
the Egyptians the district was known as the " La.nd
of Amor." The Amorites were of Semitic stock, and
it is probable that they formed one section the
Canaan ites of Palestine being another of a great
migration of Semites from Arabia, which seems to
have taken place about 2500. While the Canaan-
ites settled in Palestine, the Amorites occupied the
region to the N. of Palestine and to the E. of Lebanon.
Here they established a number of independent states.
We gather from the OT that branches of them also
settled on the plateaux to the E., and in the hill country
to the W., of Jordan. For a time Amurru became
subject to Egypt, but afterwards went over to the
side of the growing Hittite kingdom. Later still
the country was occupied by the Aramaeans, or
Syrians.

To the W. of Amurru, along the narrow strip of land
between Lebanon and the Mediterranean, the Phoe
nicians were situated. They Were of Semitic stock,
and of all the Semitic dialects theirs was the most
closely related to the Hebrew. According to tradi
tion, their original home was on the N. shore of the
Persian Gulf. When they entered their new country
is as yet unknown. They were certainly there c. 2000,
and it is possible that they were the descendants of
invaders who formed one of the earliest waves of the
migration to which the Canaanites and Amorites be
longed. If so, We must date the beginning of the
nation about 2500. The chief centres of Phoenician
life were a number of cities situated on the coast. Of
these, Arvad was the oldest, but Tyre and Sidon early
became the most important, now one, now the other,
occupying the premier position. Most, if not all, of
the cities formed small, independent kingdoms with
a limited monarchy. The culture of the Phoenicians
was largely borrowed. They had little originality,
but were able to adapt and develop the inventions of

54

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

others. For certain of their productions, Buch as
purple dye and metal working, they were very famous ;
but their reputation rests chiefly upon the commerce
which brought them into relations with the nations
on all sides, and by means of which they amassed vast
Wealth. They Were noted, too, for their shipbuilding,
and in navigation they were unsurpassed. They have
often been credited with the invention of the alphabet,
but this is unlikely. It is more probable that the
alphabet originated in Crete, where the remains of a
highly developed civilisation have been discovered
(p. 5(>). We know that, after the Cretan power was
broken, c. 1400. a people of Cretan origin settled in
S. Phoenicia. They probably brought the alphabet
with them, and the Phoenicians, having adopted it
themselves, through their far-extended commerce
passed it on to others. It is not surprising that a
nation which Was so greatly devoted to commercial
pursuits should have shown comparatively little liking
for war ; and we find that they were generally ready
to pay tribute in return for the privilege of carrying
on their commerce undisturbed. If necessary, how
ever, they could offer an obstinate resistance to their
foes, and Tyro especially has to her credit the endurance
of several long and stubborn sieges,

To return to Egypt : we saw above (p. 52) that the
Hyksos established themselves, perhaps about 1800, in
the eastern portion of the Delta, where they gradually
extended their control over the whole of Egypt. The
rule of the foreigners was hateful to the Egyptians,
who did their best in after days to obliterate all traces
of it. They succeeded so well that the period is the
most obscure in Egyptian history. Towards the close
of the seventeenth century, however, the strength of
the Egyptians began to revive. The south was tirst
delivered from Hyksos control, and then Aahmes, the
founder of the XVIIIth Dynasty (c.. 1580). drove the
foreigners from the country, and Egypt was united
once more under a native king.

With the departure of the Hyksos a new spirit mani
fested itself in Egypt, and the period of the " First
Empire " began. In the south the valuable province
of Nubia was recovered by Amcnophis I and Thoth
mes I, the second and third kings of the dynasty ;
and later kings both increased its extent and improved
its organisation. Even more important were the
results of a series of campaigns in Palestine and Syria.
The Hyksos invasion, though it contributed nothing
to Egyptian culture, had at least broken down for ever
the barriers which separated Egypt from western Asia.
Hitherto, apart from occasional military expeditions
into Palestine, the intercourse between Egypt and
other countries of the Near East had been of a com
mercial character. Now, however, circumstances
combined to encourage the Egyptian kings to adopt a
policy of aggression. On the one hand, the expulsion
of the Hyksos had put fresh energy into the nation,
a strong army had been created, and the use of the
chariot had been learnt ; while, on the other hand, as
we saw above, the comparative weakness of Babylonia
under the Kassites brought about a diminution of her
influence in the west.

The first step towards the conquest of Palestine and
Syria was taken by Thothmes I [c. 1539-1514), who
made a successful raiding expedition as far as the
Euphrates. These districts, however, though so easily
overrun, were not yet conquered. Nor did the Egyp
tians immediately follow up their initial success, and
it was not until the twenty-second year of Thothmes
III (c. 1501-1447) that the Syrian campaigns were
renewed. Meanwhile a strong confederacy of Syrian

states had been formed, with the Prince of Kadesh,
on the Orontes, at its head. Against this confederacy
Thothmes III set out in 1479, advancing without diffi
culty until he came to where the Syrians Were gathered,
with Uieir headquarters at Megiddo (pp. 29f.). Here a
fierce battle took place, in which the Egyptians were
victorious. Megiddo itself soon fell, and pushing into
Phoenicia, Thothmes captured a number of other towns.
The Egyptian mastery of Syria was, however, not
complete as long as the northern part of the country
was unsubdued. Thothmes, therefore, gradually pre
pared the way by a series of annual campaigns against
Phoenicia, and then, marching rapidly north-eastward,
he pursued a victorious course as far as Carcho-
mish on the Euphrates, where a decisive defeat was
inflicted on his enemies. The conquest of Syria Was
completed in a subsequent campaign by the subjuga
tion of Kadesh, and Thothmes authority over
the regions W. of the Euphrates was generally recog
nised.

Thothmes paid great attention to the organisation
of his newly- won province. From his Annals and from
the Amarna letters we learn what methods he adopted.
Very wisely he allowed the different states to be ruled
by native princes ; but, in order to secure a pro-
Egyptian attitude, he took their sons to Egypt, where
they both served as hostages for the good behaviour
of their fathers, and were gradually filled with Egyp
tian ideals. But the native princes were not left
entirely alone, even when they had been Egyptianised.
Up and down the country were located bodies of
Egyptian troops who were ready to put down any in
surrection before it attained more than local influence.
Moreover, the princes were kept under constant sur
veillance by Egyptian officials, whose business it was
to see to the regular transmission of tribute, and to
exercise any necessary oversight of the native govern
ments. The empire which Thothmes III had won was
retained by his successors Amenhetep II (c. 1447-
1421), who even crossed the Euphrates and secured
the king of Mitanni as a subject-ally ; Thothmes IV
(c. 1421-1412); and Amenhetep 111 (c. 1412-1376).
In the reign of the last-named, however, the power of
Egypt began to decline, and her hold on Syria was
relaxed. "The cause of this decline is not far to seek.
The growth of the empire had been accompanied by
a great development of commerce, which, with the
tribute drawn from the dependent states, brought much
wealth into the country. With the growth of wealth
there was a corresponding increase of luxury, and, in
the period of almost unbroken peace which followed
the reign of Thothmes III, seeds of decay were sowed
which bore fruit in the days of Amenhetep IV, who
came to the throne c. 1376. The reign of this king
is made famous by a most astonishing religious reform
and its consequences. The source of the reform
was the king himself, who declared that all the gods
worshipped by the Egyptians were non-existent, and
that the only deity was the one Who revealed himself
through the " Aten," or sun-disc. Here we have
monotheism of a very high order, for Amenhetep
worshipped not the sun-disc itself, but the power
behind it. The decree went forth that the worship
of the " Aten " was now to be the " established "
worship of the country. The king changed his name
to Akhenaten, which means " the glorious sun -disc,"
and built a new capital, called Akhetaten, to be the
centre of the promulgation of the new faith. The site
of the new city is now occupied by the village of
Tell el-Amarna. The consequences of this reform were
felt throughout the empire. In Egypt itself it was

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

received with Widespread indignation. Not only the
priests of the old religion, but all other classes of
society, regarded the change with hatred and alarm,
and the loyalty of the people was strained to a degree
which, during the latter part of the reign, reached
breaking-point. Moreover, there Was great unsettle-
ment in Syria arid Palestine, where forces had been
gradually developing which threatened to involve
Egypt in the loss of the province which Thothmcs III
had striven so hard to win. Egypt needed above all
things a ruler of great energy and ability ; but Amen-
hebep was so completely absorbed in his new religion
that he had no time to give to the administration of
his empire.

The chief cause of the trouble in Syria was the growth
of the Hittite power under Shubbiluliuma. Circum
stances here were favourable to an energetic leader.
On the E. of the Euphrates was Mitanni, now 1 a subject-
ally of Egypt. To the W. of Lebanon were the
Phoenicians : they also were loyal to Egypt, for to
be so was to their commercial interest. Between
these two peoples Were the Amorites, subject, at
present, to Egypt, but ever ready to revolt should the
opportunity offer. As long as Egypt was strong it
Was possible to keep the unruly elements in subjec
tion ; but when, during the latter part of Amenhetep
Ill s reign, Egypt weakened, there Was afforded to
Shubbiluliuma a splendid opportunity of stirring up
dissension and profiting thereby. Sliubbiluliuma set
about the realisation of his ambitions very craftily.
He impelled the Amorites, under their leader Abd-
ashirta, to attack the Phoenician states, and as the latter,
in spite of their frenzied appeals, some of which have
survived in the Amarna letters, received insufficient
support from Egypt, they were forced, one by one, to
renounce their allegiance to the Pharaoh. Mean
while, Shubbiluliuma was at liberty to carry out his
plans behind the screen which the Amorites afforded.
Crossing the Euphrates, he plundered the northern
portion of Mitanni, and then retired into N. Syria,
where he subdued a number of states. This much he
accomplished during the reign of Amenhetep III. In
the meantime the Amorites had been preparing the
way for him further south. Their leader was now
Aziru, the son of Abdashirta. He had been very
successful in his attacks on Phoenicia, and became for
a time the ruler of an Amorite kingdom which, though
nominally subject to Egypt, was practically indepen
dent. Shubbiluliuma now attacked and defeated
Aziru, and thus gained control of the greater part of
Syria and Phoenicia. Finally, he subdued Mitanni,
which had been still further weakened by internal
dissensions and by an Assyrian invasion. He also
gained control of a large part of Asia Minor, and
possibly campaigned as far westward as the JEge&n.
As yet, however, we have no detailed knowledge of
his achievements in this direction. Shubbiluliuma
was now the most powerful monarch in W. Asia.
Assyria and Babylonia were .independent, but they
stood in awe of the great conqueror, and treated him
with respect. Egypt had fallen into a condition of
weakness. Not only had she lost Syria and Phoenicia,
but Palestine had been invaded by Aram^an tribes,
with whom certain of the Canaanite princes made
common cause, though for some time, in spite of the
anxious warnings of Abd-khiba, the governor of
Jerusalem, they succeeded in deceiving Amenhetep TV
with assurances of loyalty. When the Egyptian court
at last awoke to a recognition of the tine state of affairs
and sent help, it was too late, and Palestine also was
lost. Tims Egypt was deprived of the whole of the

valuable province which Thothmes III had Won and
organised at so great a cost.

Much of our knowledge of the period covered by the
reigns of Amenhetep III arid IV is derived from the
tablets of Boghaz-keui and of Tell el-Amarna. The
latter, nearly three hundred in number, were dis
covered in A.D. 1887, and, like those from Boghaz-keui,
are written in the Babylonian script and language.
Some of them contain letters to the Pharaoh from the
kings of neighbouring countries Babylonia, Assyria,
Mitanni, Alashiya (Cyprus ?), and the Hittites ; but
most of them are reports or letters from native princes
and Egyptian officials in Syria and Palestine.

Very interesting is the mention in some of these
letters of certain Semitic tribes, who had invaded
Palestine and caused great disturbance in the country.
The name of one of the tribes or groups of tribes,
Khabiri, is very similar to the name " Hebrew," and
some authorities find in the allusions to them in these
letters the counterpart of the Biblical account of the
Hebrew invasion of Palestine. The question is, how
ever, still under discussion (p. 34).

The invaders came from Arabia, like the Canaanites
and Amorites before them, and formed part of what
is generally known as the Aramcoan migration, the
beginning of which may be dated about the middle
of the second millennium B.C. The tribes involved
in this movement spread in different directions. Some
of them settled on the borders of Assyria and Baby
lonia, where they often proved to be troublesome
neighbours ; while a large number of them gradually
made their way into Syria, either absorbing or driving
out their Amorite and Hittite predecessors, until the
greater part of Syria was in their hands. They estab
lished a number of independent kingdoms, of which
Damascus early became the wealthiest and most
powerful. Like the Phoenicians, they developed into
a great commercial people. The trade routes between
the east and the west passed through their territory,
and the Aramasan merchants, talcing full advantage
of their opportunity, accumulated great wealth. In
the days of the Assyrian empire much of this wealth
passed, in the form of tribute, into the treasuries of
the Assyrian kings. 1 et the Aramaeans did not readily
submit to the Assyrians. Unlike the Phoenicians, they
were good soldiers, and resisted for a long time the
attempts of a succession of Assyrian kings to subdue
Syria. The kingdom of Israel found Damascus a
very dangerous neighbour, and suffered many humilia
tions at her hands.

The reign of Amenhetep IV closed about 1302. He
left Egypt in a chaotic condition, and stripped of much
of her wealth ; and to his successors there fell the task
of attempting her restoration. Before any serious
attempt could be made, however, to recover Palestine
and Syria, it was necessary to set affairs at home in
order. Little time was lost in abolishing Aten worship
and restoring that of Amen ; and under Horemheb,
the last king of the dynasty, the reorganisation of the
country was quickly carried out. No effort, however,
was made to regain the lost provinces, and Shubbilu
liuma actually secured a treaty confirming him in the
possession of Syria.

On the death of Horemheb a new dynasty (the
XlXth) began. With the second king, Set i I (c. 1320-
1300), Egypt entered upon the task of establishing
her " Second Empire," and there began a series of
attempts to regain Palestine and Syria. Seti made a
good beginning. Having recovered Palestine and a
large part of Phoenicia in his first year, he marched in
his fourth year into Syria, and defeated the Hittites

56

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

in the neighbourhood of Kadesh. Mursil, the son of
Shubbiluliuma, Was now king of the Hittites, and a
treaty was made between him and Seti by which S.
Syria was recognised as Egyptian territory. Thus
Egypt regained a large, and that the most profitable,
part of her lost provinces. Even more important was
the restoration of her prestige. Seti s successor,
Rameses II, resolved to try to break the power of the
Hittites, who were still in possession of the greater
part of the empire which Shubbiluliuma had won.
Early in his reign, therefore, he invaded Syria, and the
Hittites suffered a second defeat at Kadesh. The
victory seems, however, to have been a costly affair
for the Egyptians, for Rameses did not follow it up,
rior did he gain from it any substantial political ad
vantage. Mursil died, and his successor, Mutallu, was
a vigorous king, who stirred up a revolt in Palestine
so serious that Rameses had to reconquer the country.
Rameses then pushed forward right into N. Syria, but
without gaining any permanent results ; and when
Khattusil, Mursil s brother, came to the Hittite throne.
Rameses readily agreed to the new king s overtures
for peace (c. 1280). A treaty was drawn up, of which
the hieroglyphic version has been preserved at Karnak
and part o f the cuneiform version among the tablets
of Boghaz-keui. It is a long and carefully executed
document, in which previous treaties are renewed, a
defensive alliance concluded, and provision made for
the extradition of fugitive subjects of either Power.
The greater part of Syria remained under the control
of the Hittites, while Egypt was confirmed in her
possession of Phoenicia and Palestine. Owing, doubt
less, to the exhaustion of the two empires, this treaty
Was followed by a long peace, and the peoples of Syria
and Palestine enjoyed, for a period, freedom from the
disturbance caused by the movements of the Egyptian
and Hittite armies. Friendly relations Were con
tinued by Khattusil s successors, Dudkhalia and
Arnuanta, the latter, who ascended the throne about
1225, being the last Hittite king whose name is known
to us. Early in the next century the Hittite empire
was broken up.

Rameses II died about 1234. and was succeeded by
Meneptah. His reign was short and disturbed. On
the west he had to meet an invasion of Libyans, who
had already made an unsuccessful attack on Egypt
in the reign of Rameses II, and were now making a
second attempt to enter the Delta. This time they
had the support of certain Mediterranean tribes, called
by the Egyptians " Peoples of the Sea," about whom
more Will be said below ; but they were again severely
defeated and driven off. On the east he had to put
down a rebellion in Palestine. The inscription which
records the quelling of this rebellion is of special
interest, because, among a number of Palestinian names,
there appears the name " Ysiraal," which is usually
identified with Israel. If the identification be accepted,
it would seem that at least some of the Israelites were
already in Palestine. We may also recall, in this con
nexion, the suggested identification of " Khabiri " and
" Hebrews."

The death of Meneptah (c. 1225) was followed by a
period of confusion which lasted till the time of
Rameses III, the second king of the XXth Dynasty,
who came to the throne about 1204. Rameses III
reigned for about thirty-two years, and he effected a
temporary restoration of the wealth of Egypt and a
partial recovery of her power. During the earlier part
of his reign he had to meet attacks from the west and
from the north. The western attack was made in his
fifth year by the Libyans and their allies, the Sea-

peoples, but, as before, it was beaten back ; the
attack from the north was made some three years
later. The invaders, who Were again tribes of the
Sea-peoples, advanced both by land through Asia
Minor and Syria and by sea. In the course of their
landward advance they helped to deal the final blow
at the Hittite empire, which Was already tottering, and
did much damage in Syria. They seem to have
marched as far as the border of Egypt. Rameses,
however, defeated them both on sea and on land, and
they retired northward.

These tribes formed part of a great movement of
Mediterranean peoples which began about the end of
the fifteenth century B.C. with the break-up of the
power of Crete. This island was long the centre of a
highly developed civilisation, the beginnings of which
may be placed somewhere in the fourth millennium
B.C. Unfortunately, the Cretan script, which, like
those of Egypt and Babylonia, was of pictographic
origin, has not yet been deciphered, and our knowledge
of Cretan development is derived almost entirely from
the remains of the different branches of their art
which exploration has brought to light. While _these
remains teach us little about the political and religious
history of Crete, they show that on the material side
Cretan culture was equal, and in some respects superior,
tc that of Egypt or Mesopotamia. About 1400 Crete
was invaded, "her capital, Knossos, destroyed, and her
power broken. This disaster was the chief cause of
the disturbance of peoples which affected N. Africa,
Asia Minor, and Syria.

The invasion which Rameses III repelled in his
eighth year has a special interest for the student of
the OT, because one of the tribes involved in it bore
the name " Pulasati," which closely resembles the
Hebrew " Pelishtim," or Philistines. It will be re
membered that in Am. 97 the Philistines are said to
have come from " Caphtor," which, if correctly identi
fied with the Egyptian " Keftiu," probably denotes
the island of Crete (cf. Jer. 4?4). In another group of
passages (2 S. 818, 1 K. 1^3, &c.) mention is made of the
bodyguard e>f Pelcthites a variant of Pelishtim and
Cherethites which Was maintained by the early Hebrew
kings ; and with these passages should be compared
others (Ezek. 25i6, Zeph. 2s), in which the Cherethites
are connected with Philistia. In 2 K. Il4,i9 again,
we read of " Carites " (Carians) as forming part of the
palace-guard. On further consideration it appears
that all these names have connexions with lands to
the W. of Palestine. The Carians occupied the SW.
corner of Asia Minor ; the Pelethites or Pelishtim were
the descendants of the Pulasati, who, whatever their
original home, came from Asia Minor into Syria ; and
the ancestors of the Cherethites came, in all proba
bility, from Crete. We may assume, then, that the
Philistines of the OT were a group of tribes, some of
whom came from Asia Minor and others from Crete,
and that the name of the leading tribe the Pulasati
was in time employed to denote the whole group.
They must have established themselves in the southern
part of the maritime plain soon after the death of
Rameses III (c. 1172), taking advantage of the weak
ness of the kings who succeeded him. In the choice
of their new home they were doubly fortunate ; for
the fertility of Philistia is great, and, as the caravan
routes between Egypt and the east passed through
their territory, they had exceptional opportunities for
commercial development.

Our knowledge of their culture is far from complete,
but the old idea that they were barbarians has been
dispelled for ever by the discovery of examples of their

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

57

workmanship on the sites of Gaza, Bethsheraesh, and
Gezer. From these it appears, indeed, that their
artistic skill had to a certain extent degenerated during
the period of their wanderings, but there is no doubt
that the civilisation of Canaan benefited by their
advent. It is not unlikely that the Philistines were
the first to introduce iron into Palestine. If so, we
may be sure that they would retain the monopoly of
this valuable metal as long as possible (cf. 1 S. 1819-23) ;
and we can readily understand how, by employing it
for their weapons, they were able to gain the mastery
of their neighbours (pp. 257f.).

The latter part of Rameses Ill s reign was spent in
peace, except for certain internal troubles ; but the
revival of Egypt s power during his reign was only
temporary, and after his death, if not before, her hold
on Palestine was entirely relaxed. The results of
exploration show how great was the internal weakness
of Egypt at this time. Many unhealthy influences had
been introduced by the large number of foreigners
who had entered the country ; art and literature had
deteriorated both in conception and in execution ;
and the power of the priests of Amen, whose wealth
had been increasing ever since the time of Thothmes
III, had become dangerously great. During the
reigns of Rameses Ill s successors, who were weak
kings, the priests became the real rulers of the country,
and the authority of the kings of the XXIst Dynasty
was limited to the Delta, with Taiiis as their capital.
Thus Egypt s " Second Empire " came to an end.

The influence of Egypt on Palestine, though far less
than that of Babylonia, was considerable. It began
long before the establishment of the empire in the
sixteenth century, for the early Pharaohs encouraged
commerce with foreign countries, and in their time
many of the valuable products of Egypt must have
been imported into Palestine. The worship of Egyp
tian deities, such as Amen, Osiris, Ptah, and Isis, was
also introduced, especially into S. Palestine, where
Egyptians seem to have settled as early as the time
of the Xllth Dynasty (c. 2000). After Palestine be
came part of the empire, Egyptian influence must have
become much greater, owing to the increase of diplo
matic and commercial intercourse, and owing to the
presence in the country of Egyptian governors and
their suites. Thus Egypt contributed her share to
wards the preparation of Palestine for the advent of
Israel. It is to be noted, however, that there is nothing
of Egyptian origin in the OT corresponding to the
Creation and Deluge stories, which, as we have seen,
were probably derived from Babylonian sources.

III. The Assyrian Period. Our knowledge of
Assyrian history for some four centuries after the
Kassite invasion of Babylonia is very scanty. At
first, the only direction in which she could expand
was northward : to the west and south the way
of advance was barred by Mitanni and Babylonia.
Eventually the power of Mitanni was broken by the
Hittites ; but Babylonia remained to the last a
troublesome, and sometimes a dangerous, neighbour.

It was about the middle of the fourteenth century
B.C. that Assyria entered on her career, the goal of
which was the establishment of her supremacy over
the greater part of Nearer Asia. In the prosecution
of this object her armies campaigned in all directions,
but there were two regions in particular over which
the Assyrian kings strove to win, and to retain,
supremacy. The one was Babylonia : she never
forgot, nor allowed others to forget, her former great
ness, the memory of which, together with the influence
of her ancient civilisation and the religious authority

of the priests of Babylon, counted for much in Assyria.
The control of Babylonia, therefore, not only secured
Assyria s southern frontier, but added greatly to the
prestige of the kings who exercised it. The other
region included Syria and Palestine : here were the
wealthy Aramaean and Phoenician states, the two
Hebrew kingdoms, and the important cities of Phil-
istia, all of which the kings of Assyria found to be rich
sources of tribute.

Four periods of expansion may be distinguished.
With these there alternated an equal number of
periods of weakness and shrinkage, from each of the
first three of which Assyria revived to push her con
quests further than ever before, while the fourth ended
in her downfall.

The first period of expansion began c. 1350, and
lasted for nearly a century. Several kings, notably
Shalmaneser I (c. 1300-1275), taking advantage of
Mitanni s overthrow, campaigned westward as far as
the Euphrates, and brought the territory up to Car-
chemish within the Assyrian sphere of influence.
Beyond the Euphrates, however, they did not go :
the Hittites were, as yet, too strong. Babylonia, too,
during the greater part of this period, was under
Assyrian control ; and, at last, Tukulti-Ninib I
(c. 1275-1260) actually occupied the throne of Babylon,
holding it till his death.

For about a century after Tukulti-Ninib s reign the
history of Assyria is obscure. It was a time of great
disturbance in the Nearer East. First there was the
great movement of peoples which broke up the Hittite
empire and brought the Philistines to Palestine ; and
a little later the Mushki (OT Meshech) came into Asia
Minor from their home in the neighbourhood of the
Caucasus. In the general unsettlement caused by
these invasions Assyria lost her hold on W. and NW.
Mesopotamia ; Babylonia recovered her independence ;
and the authority of the kings of Asshur was confined
within the natural limits of their kingdom.

We see the first clear signs of recovery in the reign
of Ashur-resh-ishi (c. 1145-1120) ; and his son, Tiglath-
pileser I (c. 1120-1100), one of Assyria s greatest
kings, carried the revival to its highest point. He
conquered N. Babylonia, drove the Mushki from
Mesopotamia, and in his raiding and tribute-gathering
expeditions penetrated westward across N. Syria to
the Mediterranean, far into the mountainous regions
on the north-west and north, and eastward to a point
beyond the Lower Zab. He did not establish an
" empire," but he made Assyrian influence felt beyond
all previous limits. After Tiglath-pilcser s death,
however, Assyria again fell on evil days. Arabian
tribes belonging to the " Aramoean migration " occu
pied much of her Mesopotamian territory, and also
overran Babylonia.

We may note that the Hebrews now established
their monarchy, and built up the kingdom of David
(c. 1000-975) and Solomon (c. 975-937). Political
conditions in W. Asia at this time were almost entirely
favourable to their enterprise. Of their nearer neigh
bours, only the Philistines were really dangerous ;
Moab and Ammon were not strong enough to check
their development, and the Aramaean states to the
north were still occupied in securing their own posi
tions. Moreover, on looking further afield, we see
that there was no dominant power in the Nearer East
at this time. The Hittite empire was broken for ever ;
and of the other three kingdoms Egypt, Babylonia,
and Assyria which at one time or another had gained
the supremacj , none was at present strong enough
to continue the raiding campaigns of former days.

58

THE NATIONS CONTEMPOEAEY WITH ISRAEL

Babylonia was not destined again to attain to the
dignity of " empire " until the time of the " Chal-
dsean " dynasty (625-538) ; while Egypt, after a
brief and partial revival in the latter part of the tenth
century under Sheshenk I (OT Shishak, c. 947-925 ; cf.
1 K. 1425*. P- 71), a successful Libyan soldier who estab
lished the XXITnd Dynasty, lapsed into inactivity till
the second half of the eighth century B.C.

With Assyria, however, it was different. She had
plenty of recuperative power, and shortly before
900 B.C. she entered upon her third period of expan
sion (c. 911-782), during which her armies campaigned
further than ever before, especially westward, and she
had to meet three new foes the Chaldaeans. the
Modes, and Urartu. The kinirs of the period were
Adad-nirari III (911-800). Tukulti-Ninib II (890-
885), Ashur-natsir-pal III (885-800), Shalmaneser III
(860-825), Shamshi-Adad VII (823-811), and Adad-
nirari IV (811-782).

At the outset the two most serious barriers to As
syria s progress were Babylonia and the Aramaeans of
W. Mesopotamia. The resisting power of Babylonia
had been increased by the advent of the Chaldceans.
These people, like the Amorites. Aramaeans, and others,
were Semitic immigrants from Arabia, who had estab
lished themselves at the head of the Persian Gulf,
and who from this time onwards were a constant source
of annoyance to Assyria. Adad-nirari III made a
good beginning against the southern kingdom by twice
defeating her king ; but it was not till the reign of
Shalmaneser III that Assyria s suzerainty over Baby
lonia was definitely established (c. 852). The Aramaeans
were subdued by Tukulti-Ninib II and Ashur-natsir-pal
III, and Shalmaneser III had little trouble with them.
Eastward, Ashur-natrur-pal and Shalmaneser made
manv expeditions, partly against the tribes on As
syria s eastern frontier, but specially against the
Medes. These people, who were of Aryan stock, lived
formerly in the east of Iran, the vast plateau between
the Tigris and the Indus. Some time before the ninth
century B.C. they migrated into W. Iran, and there
they settled, having at first no central government,
but divided into numerous separate principalities.
Ashur-natsir-pal and Shalmaneser saw clearly the
necessity of preventing the Modes from passing the
Zagros range, and in this they succeeded ; but they
accomplished no permanent subjugation of this eastern
foe. The same two kings had to deal with another
danger which threatened from the north. Here, N.
of Lake Van, the strong kingdom of Urartu had grown
up, and was seeking to extend its influence over the
tribes between Lake Urmia and the Euphrates.
Ashur-natsir-pal and Shalmaneser kept these tribes
in order by frequent raiding campaigns ; and Shal
maneser, by several invasions of Urartu, checked her
progress for a time. Like the Medes, however, Urartu
was not permanently subdued, and later kings of Assyria
found her to be a dangerous and stubborn enemy.

The first king of the period to lead his forces across
the Euphrates was Ashur-natsir-pal, who in the tenth
campaign of his reign marched through N. Syria to
the Phoenician coast, receiving tribute from a number
of Syrian and Phoenician princes. Shalmaneser
crossed the Euphrates frequently. His main object
was to conquer S. Syria, and presumably Palestine
also. In this, however, he did not succeed. His first
three attempts, made in 854 (when the battle of
Qarqar took place), 849, and 846, were checked by a
confederacy of states, including Damascus, which was
at the head, and Israel. When he made his fourth
attempt (in 842), the confederates failed to rally to

gether against him, and most of the local rulers, Jehu
of Israel amongst them, sent him tribute. But
Damascus, under Hazael, made a vigorous resistance,
and neither then nor three years later did it yield to
the Assyrian forces. While, however, he failed to
subdue S. Syria, the N. Syrian states were at his mercy,
and, together with the Phoenicians, provided plentiful
tribute. He also subdued Que (Cilicia), Tabal, and
Malatia, and thus gained for Assyria control of the
important trade-route into Asia Minor.

The last four years of Shalmaneser s reign were
darkened by a revolt led by one of his sons, and it
was not till the third year of Shamshi-Adad VII that
internal harmony was restored. This revolt weakened
Assyria s authority over the surrounding districts, but
Shamshi-Adad recovered most, if not the whole, of
the lost ground everywhere except on the W. of the
Euphrates. The next king, Adad-nirari IV, not only
retained what his predecessor had Won back, but also
crossed the Euphrates and made Assyrian influence
felt beyond the limits reached by Shalmaneser III,
even as far as N. Philistia and Edom. Damascus he
reduced to a condition of vassalage, and Babylonia
became practically an Assyrian province. Adad-
nirari s death marks the close of the third period of
expansion. The six kings whose reigns we have sur
veyed were all strong and capable leaders, but their
achievements must not be exaggerated. It is, indeed,
most instructive to note how lacking in permanence
was Assyria s hold on much of the territory overrun
by her armies. Babylonia acknowledged the Assyrian
supremacy only under compulsion ; the tribes in the
eastern mountains were restless, submitting only when
armies were sent against them ; Urartu had merely been
checked for a time, and her growing power was one of
the chief causes of the weakness into which Assyria
now fell ; while even westward there was, as yet, no
permanent conquest of territory beyond the Euphrates,
and many campaigns were required before the states
of Syria and Palestine were completely crushed.

As at the close of the second period of Assyrian ex
pansion, so now again, the Hebrews took advantage of
their freedom from external pressure. They had been
greatly weakened by the division of the kingdom, and
by the mutual jealousies and hostilities which resulted
from it. Moreover, Judah, and to some extent Israel,
must have been impoverished by Sheshenk s raid.
But more serious still, especially for the Northern
Kingdom, though Judah did not entirely escape, had
been the rise of the Aramaean state of Damascus.
From the days of Baasha, for about one hundred years,
wars between Damascus and Israel were frequent,
with results generally adverse to the latter (2 K.
624-720, 137,22, 1426f.). Now, however, the power
of Damascus was broken, and under the contemporary
kings Jeroboam II and Uzziah, Israel and Judah
enjoyed remarkable prosperity. They were not, how
ever, allowed to enjoy it long, for in 745 Assyria entered
on her fourth period of expansion.

The period covers the reigns of six kings Tiglath-
pileser IV (745-727), Shalmaneser V (727-722), Sargon
II (722-705), Sennacherib (705-681), Esarhaddon
(681-668), and Ashur-bani-pal (668-626) under whom
Assyria s military activities were more intense and
more widely extended than ever before. Tiglath-
pileser IV was a successful soldier who gained the
throne through a military revolution. The third
king, Sargon II, was also a usurper, and Sennacherib,
the fourth of the series, was murdered ; but neither
Sargon s usurpation nor Sennacherib s murder seems
seriously to have affected Assyria s progress.

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

Tiglath-pileser reasserted Assyria s supremacy over
Babylonia early in his reign, and for the greater part
of the period she was ruled by the reigning king of
Assyria or by his nominee. There were, however,
intervals of varying duration during which the southern
kingdom rebelled against Assyrian control. Part of
the responsibility for these rebellions rests upon the
native Babylonians, who hated the domination of
Assyria. Sennacherib was so greatly exasperated by
their behaviour that he carried the Assyrian policy
of suppression to an extreme point by the destruction
of Babylon. His son, Esar-haddon, sought to con
ciliate them by rebuilding the capital, and in other
ways ; but they revolted again (652) in the reign of
Ashur-bani-pal, who had to besiege and capture
Babylon before the revolt was crushed (C48).

Probably the Babylonians would not have been so
troublesome had it not been for the Chaldaeans and
Elamites. They repeatedly invaded Babylonia, and
all the kings of the period, excepting, perhaps, Shal-
maneser V, had more or less trouble with one or both
of these persistent foes. During the first twelve
years of Sargon IPs reign, for instance, the Chaldeeans
were in possession of Babylonia ; and from 700 to
689 Sennacherib was involved in a long struggle with
them and their Elamitc allies. More than once the
country of the Chalcleeans was devastated, and they
themselves driven across the Tigris ; but they were
never permanently crushed, and on the death of
Ashur-bani-pal (626) they regained control of Baby
lonia. The attacks of the Elamites began in the reign
of Sargon, and persisted until they received a final
blow at the hands of Ashur-bani-pal, who sacked their
capital, Susa, and devastated their country (644).
Their overthrow was not, however, wholly to the
advantage of Assyria, for it involved the breaking
down of a useful barrier against the Medes.

The last-named people the Assyrians were never
wholly able to subdue. Tiglath-pileser, indeed, held
them in check, and Sargon claims to have extended
Assyrian supremacy as far eastward as the Caspian ;
but no complete or permanent control seems to have
been established beyond the Zagros range. The
eastern peril was increased at the beginning of Esar-
haddon s reign by the arrival of the Gimirrai, barbarian
hordes \vho foi some time had been moving south
wards through the passes of the Caucasus. North of
Urartu the Gimirrai split into two parts, one of which
travelled westward into Asia Minor, while the other
moved south-eastward, and, uniting eventually with
the Mannai and the Medes, threatened Assyria. Esar-
haddon was able, partly by force and partly by diplo
macy, to check the combination, and Ashur-bani-pal
subdued the Mannai. The latter king also gained
some successes against the Medes ; but the establish
ment of their monarchy in the first half of the seventh
century, by bringing the separate principalities under
central control, added greatly to their strength, and
put an end to Assyria s chance of subduing them.

On the north the power of Urartu had developed
considerably during the period of Assyria s weakness,
and under Sarduris III her influence had extended far
beyond the natural limits of the country. Sarduris
had even assumed the title of king of Syria. Tiglath-
pileser lost no time in attacking this northern foe, and
in the second year of his reign he drove the Urartians
from N. Syria. By 738 he had reduced the N. Syrian
states to submission, and in 735 he invaded Urartu
and ravaged the country from end to end. By these
campaigns he restored the authority of Assyria over
the north, and as north-westward as Cilicia. Urartu,

59

however, soon recovered. In the reign of Sargon she
and the kingdom of Mushki fomented rebellion amongst
the vassal states of Assyria in their neighbourhood,
and it cost Sargon ten years of hard campaigning to
reduce the two kingdoms and to restore Assyria s
authority over her rebellious vassals. Apart, from a
disturbance in Cilicia caused by an invasion of lonians,
but quickly checked by Sennacherib s forces, and an
inroad of Gimirrai from the north-west which Esar-
haddon s generals beat back, this part of the empire
seems to have remained fairly tranquil, at least until
640, when records cease.

We come finally to the west, the quarter in which
Assyria made most progress, and where in her desire
to secure complete control she at last overreached
herself through the attempt to subdue Egypt.

The western operations began in 734, when the
Syro-Ephraimitic coalition (2 K. 165) gave Tiglath-
pileser an excuse for interfering with the states of
S. Syria and Palestine. For Assyria the campaign
was highly successful : Damascus, which had for so
long been the leader in all anti-Assyrian movements,
was captured, and many of her inhabitants were carried
into captivity (732) ; Israel was stripped of the
northern portion of her territory ; and most, if not
all, of the other western states, including Judah,
where Aliaz was king, became tributary. In the reign
of Shalmaneser V a further step -was taken towards
the reduction of the west. The occasion was provided
by the renewed interference of Egypt in Palestine.
About 728 Piankhi, a Nubian, had made himself
master of Egypt and established the XXVth Dynasty.
His son Shabaka (OT So, or, more correctly, Seve).
who was his comma nder-in-chief, aimed at recovering
Syria and Palestine for Egypt. Accordingly he en^
couraged the king of Tyre and Hoshca of Israel to
revolt (2 K. 174). The revolt was quickly crushed.
Tyre yielded at once, and though Samaria held out
for two years, no help came from Egypt, and the fall
of the city took place, shortly after the death of Shal-
rnaneser, in 722. The southern half of the kingdom
of Israel now became, like the northern half twelve
years before, a part of the Assyrian empire. Early
in Sargon s reign a number of western states rebelled
again at Egypt s instigation ; but he soon restored
Assyrian authority by two victories the first over
the rebels at Qarqar, and the second, immediately
afterwards, over the Egyptians under Shabaka at
Raphia (c. 720). Sargon also sent successful expedi
tions against N. Arabia (715 B.C.) and against Ashdod
(711 ; cf. Is. 20i : ). In 703, owing to the persuasions
of the Chaldsean chieftain, Merodach-baladan (2 K.
20 1 2 ft .), on the one hand, and of Egypt on the other,
Pho3nicia and Palestine were again in revolt. As soon
as possible Sennacherib marched westward (701).
He quickly subdued Phoenicia, and then, advancing
southwards, defeated a confederate army at Eltekeh,
and ravaged Judah, exacting a heavy tribute from
Hezekiah. Esarhaddon secured afresh the submission
of the western states by the capture of Sidon, which
at the instigation of Tirhakah, king of Egypt, had
withheld its tribute.

Now began the momentous operations against
Egypt momentous not so much for Egypt as for
Assyria, since, by overstraining her resources, they
contributed largely to her downfall. Yet it must be
remembered that the Assyrian kings were naturally
anxious to put an end to Egyptian machinations,
which since the time of Shalmaneser IV had been
mainly responsible for the disturbances in the western
province of her empire.

60

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

Esarhaddon planned three campaigns against Egypt.
The first (674) was a failure. The second, undertaken
in 672, resulted in the establishment of Assyrian
suzerainty, and its maintenance for about a year.
U lie third campaign he did not complete, for he died
on the march, but Ashur-bani-pal carried it to a suc
cessful issue. It was not, however, till 661 that all
resistance was crushed, and that Egypt became an
Assyrian province, in which position she remained for
about ten years, with Psamrnetichus, an Egyptian
prince, as viceroy. The subjugation of Egypt was
followed by the siege and surrender of Tyre, and by
the renewed submission of other western states. At
this point in her history (c. 660) the empire of Assyria
reached its widest limits, and the fact that Gyges of
Lydia, being hard pressed by the Gimirrai, now ap
pealed to Ashur-bani-pal for help, shows how great
was the respect in which she was held by other
nations.

Assyria was not destined, however, to occupy this
proud position for very long. Ashur-bani-pal was her
last great king his two successors are little more than
names to us- -and it is significant that from about
640 records of his reign cease, probably because there
were no achievements to record. The last period of
decline, indeed, set in some time before Aslmr-bani-
pal s death.

It must be remembered that the Assyrian empire
was founded by force, and, speaking generally, only
force was employed to keep it together. The As
syrians never mastered the art of colonising, and they
made little or no attempt to understand the peoples
whom they subdued. Their usual method of dealing
with conquered countries was to carry away a large
part of the inhabitants into captivity. Tiglath-
pileser I, indeed, speaks of making the peoples under
his sway " of one tongue," and Ashur-natsir-pal III
placed Assyrian colonists in certain conquered cities ;
while Tiglath-pileser IV devised the plan of filling the
place of those whom he removed from one district
with a batch of captives from another. This last
method was certainly an improvement, in some re
spects, on those of previous kings. It diminished,
though, as history shows, it by no means did away
with, the possibility of rebellion ; but it was fatal to
the prosperity of regions already plundered by invading
armies and burdened with tribute, antl it caused a
serious lowering of the level of culture in the conquered
countries. There are signs that Esarhaddon and
Ashur-bani-pal had more enlightened ideas, but they
could not undo the harm wrought by their predecessors.
The empire was already doomed, and as soon as the
line of strong and capable kings came to an end it
quickly fell to pieces.

The decline of Assyria began with the revolt of Egypt
under Psamrnetichus, who now established the XXVIth
Dynasty (c. 650). Ashur-bani-pal made no attempt
to restore Assyria s authority, and the occurrence is
not mentioned in his annals. Egypt now entered on
a period of prosperity greater than she had enjoyed
for many centuries.

The next loss suffered by Assyria was inflicted by
the Scythians, a wild and barbarous people whose
home was north of the Crimea, and who for some time
had been moving southwards. The invasion of the
Gimirrai, mentioned above, was caused by the pres
sure which they had exerted from the north, and
c. 630 they themselves poured into W. Asia. One
body of them swept through Syria and advanced as
far as Ashkelon, where they were checked by Psam-
metichus, and after a long struggle were either de

stroyed or driven out of tho country. Through this
invasion Assyria lost control of Syria and Palestine.

These misfortunes befell Assyria, before the end of
the reign of Ashur-bani-pal. After his death (626)
she soon lost Babylonia, for Nabopolassar proclaimed
himself king in Babylon, and gradually gained control
of the whole country. Thus the " Chaldeean," or
" Neo-Babylonian " empire, of which more will be
said below, was founded.

The final blow at Assyria was struck by the Medes,
whose monarchy was established, as we have seen,
in the first half of the seventh century. The first
king of whom we have historical records is Phraortes
(c. 647-626). He controlled not only the princes of
Media, but also those of Persia, and made an unsuc
cessful invasion of Assyria. His son and successor,
Cyaxares, renewed the attack shortly after his father s
death, but was obliged to relinquish it owing to an
invasion of Media by the Scythians. A third attempt
was made c. 607-606, possibly with the assistance of
the Scythians, and with the approval, if not with the
active support, of Babylonia, and Nineveh was cap
tured and destroyed. The satisfaction with which the
peoples whom Assyria had so long and so cruelly
oppressed welcomed her overthrow finds expression in
the concluding words of Nahum s prophecy (819):
" There is no assuaging of thy hurt ; thy wound is
grievous ; all that hear the bruit of thee clap the
hands over thee ; for upon whom hath not thy wicked
ness passed continually ? "

IV. The Chaldaean Period. The empire of Assyria
was divided between the Medes and the Babylonians.
The Medes took that part of it which lay to the E.
and N. of the Tigris, together with N. Mesopotamia ;
and Cyaxares quickly extended his dominion south
ward over Elam and westward into Asia Minor as far
as the river Halys, w T hich was fixed by treaty as the
boundary between the Median and Lydian empires.

The remainder of the Assyrian territory soon came
into the possession of Babylonia under the Chaldeean
dynasty. Unfortunately we know very little about
the period. The royal inscriptions deal almost en
tirely with building operations, and the information
which they give concerning the external relations of
Babylonia is of the scantiest. When Nineveh fell, the
Babylonian throne was still occupied by Nabopolassar.
Of his military activities previous to 606 we know next
to nothing, but when Assyria Was overthrown he lost
no time in securing control of Syria and Palestine. At
the moment these regions were subject to Egypt, for
in 608 Nccho, the successor of Psammetichus, had
defeated Josiah of Judah at Megiddo (2 K. 829),
and, advancing unchecked as far as the Euphrates,
had recovered Egypt s old provinces. His triumph
was, however, short-lived. In 604 Nabopolassar sent
a Babylonian army westward under the command of
the Crown Prince, Nebuchadrezzar. The Egyptians
were defeated at Carchemish and driven back to their
own country ; and Syria and Palestine were incor
porated in the Neo-Babylonian empire, which included
all the territory, except N. Mesopotamia, lying between
the Tigris and the Mediterranean coast down to the
border of Egypt.

To Nebuchadrezzar, who succeeded Nabopolassar
(604), there fell the task of consolidating the position
of Babylonia, for, although they had acknowledged
her supremacy, there was still considerable unrest
among the western states, and shortly after 600
Jehoiakim of Judah revolted. The siege and capture
of Jerusalem and the deportation of a large number
of her inhabitants (597) checked the rebellious ten-

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

61

dencies for a time. The spirit of unrest, however, was
not yet crushed, and when, with the accession of
Hophra (r. 589-505), Egypt made another attempt to
regain control of Syria and Palestine, a fresh revolt
broke out, in which Tyre, Sidon, and Judah were in
volved. In 588 Nebuchadrezzar inarched Westward.
Halting with part of his army at Riblah on the Orontes,
he sent the other part against Jerusalem. The city
was besieged, and, after the Egyptians had made a
vain attempt to relieve it, was captured in 586. Again
a large number of Jews were carried into captivity,
and the city itself was plundered and razed to the
ground. The fall of Jerusalem was followed by the
submission of Sidon ; but Tyre did not yield till after
a long siege, which is said to have lasted for thirteen
years. With the exception of an obscure reference to
a victory which he gained over the Egyptians in the
thirty-seventh year of his reign, we know nothing of
Nebuchadrezzar s later campaigns. There is no doubt,
however, that owing to his military successes, and to
the great attention which, as we learn from his inscrip
tions, he gave to the internal development of his
country, the Neo-Babylonian empire was established
on a firm basis.

Unfortunately, his successors were weak kings : the
reigns of the first three extended over barely seven
years altogether, while the fourth, Nabu-na id (Nabo-
nidus, 556-539), a native Babylonian, who was raised
to the throne by the priestly party, was much more
interested in the restoration of temples than in military
and administrative affairs, the management of Which he
left to his son, Belshazzar (Dan. 5i*). In 539 Babylonia
was invaded by the army of Cyrus, king of Persia ; Bel
shazzar was defeated at Opis, and shortly afterwards
the Persians entered Babylon without opposition.
Thus the Chalda^an empire lost its independence.

V. The Persian Period. The movement which re
sulted in the establishment of the Persian empire began
in 553. In that year Cyrus, ruler of the Persian king
dom of Anshan in Elam, revolted against his overlord
Astyages, the successor of Cyaxares, and, having de
feated and dethroned him, made himself master of
the Median empire. The defeat of Croesus, king of
Lydia, and the extension of Persian authority over
Asia Minor soon followed. Some years were then spent
in establishing his supremacy over Iran ; and in 539
the conquest of Babylonia took place, whereby Syria
and Palestine were brought under Persian control.
Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, added
Egypt to the empire ; and Darius I, having crushed
the numerous insurrections which followed Cambyses
sudden death, besides strengthening his frontiers,
extended his sway into Europe by the conquest of
Thrace and Macedonia. Darius also took great pains
with the organisation of the empire. He divided it
into twenty satrapies or provinces, each of which was
further subdivided, the governors of the subdivision;;
being responsible to the satrap, or governor of the
satrapy, and the satrap, in his turn, to the king.
Persian influence was extended and strengthened by
means of colonies established at suitable points ;
taxation was systematised, each province being assessed
at a certain amount ; and a network of good roads,
together with a regular system of posts, enabled the
king to control the vast territory subject to his rule.
In the reign of Darius the power of Persia reached its
highest point, and though her empire lasted for a
century and a half after his death, that event really
marks the beginning of her decline.

The causes of the decline are not far to seek. In
the first place, the Icings who followed Darius I were,

with the exception of Artaxerxes III (359-338), un
equal to the task of ruling so vast an empire. Xerxes I
(485-465), and still more Artaxerxes I (465-425) and
Artaxerxes II (404-359), were weak monarchs, of ever-
varying moods, and quite incapable of grasping the
reins of government with a strong hand. Under their
rule deterioration was inevitable. Another source of
weakness was the general moral degeneration resulting
from the great increase of wealth and luxury : intrigue,
bribery, and corruption flourished ; and revolts of the
satraps became frequent, especially during the latter
part of the period. Egypt, too, was ever ready to
assert her independence ; while the mountain tribes,
both in the interior and on the outskirts of the empire,
were constantly in a state of unrest. Most serious of
all, however, was the failure against Greece. The
conquests of Cyrus had broken down the barriers
between East and West, and made a conflict between
Greece and Persia inevitable. The struggle began in
the reign of Darius I. In the early stages the ad
vantage was with Persia, but the defeats which she
suffered at Marathon (490), Salamis (480), Platsea
(479), and on the Eurymedon (466) not only deprived
her of her European territory and of the Greek cities
in W. Asia Minor, but, what was more serious still,
definitely checked her progress westward and reduced
her to a stagnant condition. The Greeks, too, gained
greater confidence in themselves as they found that
the Persians were not invincible, while they gradually
came to sec that there was a field of conquest and ex
pansion open to them in the East.

The fact that Judah was a part of the Persian empire
naturally raises the question of the influence of Persia
upon Hebrew life and thought. The territory of
Judah formed one of the subdivisions of the satrapy
called " Abar-Naharah " i.e. " Beyond-the- River,"
the river being the Euphrates and had its own gover
nor. On the whole, the treatment of the Jews by the
Persians seems to have been good, though it varied,
no doubt, according to the character of the reigning
king. Artaxerxes III, for instance, was a harsh ruler ;
but it must be remembered that one of Cyrus earliest
acts was to allow a large number of Jews to return to
Judah, while the missions of Ezra and Nehemiah were
carried out by permission of Artaxerxes I.

As far as material culture is concerned, there is no
evidence that the Jew s were at all in Persia s debt ;
but it has been held that their religion shows traces
of her influence. Unfortunately, the available evidence
does not justify a definite opinion. This much, how
ever, is certain, that after the Exile the Jews held a
number of ideas and doctrines which they did not
hold in pre-exilic times. We find, for instance, at
highly developed angelology, and we know that the
Persians had a similar system ; the conception of
Satan, too, may have been affected by the Persian
belief in Ahriman ; and to Persian influence may be
due the development of the doctrine of immortality
wherein Jewish theology made its most important
advance. The possibilities of borrowing are numerous,
and though no single case can be regarded as certainly
established, there is no a priori objection against any
one of them. We may say, however, that if Judaism
borrowed, she was not content to keep what she
borrowed unchanged. She developed and improved
it, and made it the vehicle of higher teaching.

The Persian power collapsed suddenly and unex
pectedly. The reign of Artaxerxes III (359-338) had
seen the empire restored to its full extent, and ap
parently re-established as firmly as ever ; yet, seven
years after Artaxerxes death, Darius III, defeated

THE NATIONS CONTEMPORARY WITH ISRAEL

62

by Alexander, first at Issus (332) and then at Arbela
(331), was a fugitive, and the control of the Persian
empire passed to the Greeks.

VI. The Greek Period. The movement which re
sulted in the overthrow of the Persian power was
initiated by Philip, king of Macedonia (359-336), and
was carried out by his son Alexander, sumamed the
Great (336-323). The story of Alexander s campaigns,
whereby ho not only subdued the whole of the Persian
empire, including Egypt, where he founded Alexandria,
but extended his conquests as far as the Indus, and
even beyond it into India, cannot be written here.
We can only consider briefly the main consequences
of his victories for Israel.

In 323 Alexander died, and his death was followed
by the disintegration of his empire. When the period
of confusion came to an end. the Jews found themselves
between two kingdoms that of the Ptolemies, with
its centre in Egypt, and that of the Seleucids, with
its centre in Syria. The founder of the former,
Ptolemy I, afterwards named Soter, had been one of
Alexander s ablest generals, and when the empire was
partitioned in 323 he secured for himself the satrapy
of Egypt, recognising that it was the most fertile and
the most easily defended of all the provinces. In
305 he assumed the title of king, and the dynasty
which he established ruled in Egypt for nearly three
centuries. Outside Egypt proper he gained control
of Gyrene, Cyprus, and parts of Caria and Lycia in
Asia Minor ; for a time also he had a footing in Greece,
holding Corinth, Sicyon, and Megara. In 301, after
three earlier attempts, he obtained possession of
Palestine, which remained an Egyptian province till
198, when it passed into Seleucid hands. In 285
Ptolemy I abdicated in favour of his son, Ptolemy II
Philadelphus (285-246), whose reign was on the whole
a prosperous one, though he lost Cyrene and some of
his possessions in Asia Minor. Ptolemy III Euergetes,
however, recovered what his father had lost, and even
pushed his conquests westward as far as Thrace, and
eastward over Babylonia into Iran. The next king,
Ptolemy IV Philopator (221-204), was thoroughly dis
solute, and though in 217 his forces defeated the
Seleucid king Antiochus III at Raphia, thereby post
poning the loss of Palestine, yet with his reign, in the
course of which Rome established her protectorate over
Egypt, the decline of the kingdom set in. The history
of the rest of the dynasty is a confused record of feuds,
murders, and revolts, by which the political power of
Egypt was undermined and her prosperity greatly
diminished, until in 30 B.C. she became a province of
the Roman empire.

The kingdom of the Seleucids was founded by
Seleucus, another of Alexander s generals. Originally
he was appointed satrap of Babylonia (321), but was
deprived of his position in 310. He recovered it, how
ever, in 312, and during the next thirty years he made
himself master of the greater part of Alexander s
empire, extending his authority over the eastern
provinces as far as India, over Syria and parts of
Asia Minor, and, shortly before his death in 281, over
Thrace and Macedonia. Like Ptolemy, he assumed
the title of king in 305, and founded the city of Antioch
to be his seat of government. The task of maintaining
the empire was beyond the power of the next four
kings : there were revolts in the east, and Seleucid
authority ceased to be acknowledged in Asia Minor
and further west. A revival was brought about by
Antiochus III the Great (223-187), who regained
control of the eastern provinces, secured Palestine
from Egypt (198), recovered the lost territory in Asia

Minor, and even entered Greece. The revival was not
sustained, however, for Antiochus western campaigns
brought him into conflict with Rome, and, owing to
the serious defeats which were inflicted on him at
Thermopylae (191) and Magnesia (190), his empiro
Was considerably reduced not only in the west but also
in the east, so that at his death it consisted only of
Syria and Palestine, Mesopotamia, Media, and Persis.
After the undistinguished reign of Seleucus IV Philo
pator, the kingdom was seized by Antiochus IV
Epiphanes (176-164), who is best known for his perse
cution of the Jews and his attempts to suppress the
Jewish religion. He tried to conquer Egypt, but was
prevented by the Romans ; on the east, however, he
was more successful, and it was while campaigning in
Persis that he died in 164. The remainder of the
history of the dynasty is not unlike that of the
Ptolemies : for the most part the successors of Anti
ochus Epiphanes were weak kings, while the rise of rival
claimants to the throne was a frequent cause of feuds.
Thus, though the kingdom lasted for a century after
Antiochus I V s death, it became ever smaller and weaker,
until at last, in 63, Syria was made a Roman province.
_ But the coming of the Greeks had other than poli
tical consequences for Judaism. Hitherto Jews and
Greeks had known little of one another ; now they were
brought into the closest contact. One after another on
all sides of Judah there sprang up centres of Greek
culture, by all of which, but especially by Antioch
and Alexandria, the Jews were greatly influenced.
Not only did they engage in trade with these cities,
but, encouraged by both Ptolemies and Seleucids, who
offered them rights of citizenship, and attracted by
the greater freedom of Greek life, they went and lived
in them. There they adopted Greek habits and cus
toms, and even Greek names ; they read Greek litera
ture and studied Greek philosophy. Most important
of all, they learnt the Greek language, employing it
originally in trade and social intercourse, but after
wards for purposes of religion. Quite early they began
to translate the OT into Greek first the Pentateuch,
which was completed by 250, and then gradually the
remainder of the sacred books. Nor did Judah
escape these influences, which were brought to bear
on her partly through her commercial relations with
the surrounding Greek cities, and partly through the
Jews of the " Dispersion," who for religious and other
reasons were constantly revisiting their native land ;
while in the capital itself a gymnasium was established
in which Jewish youths engaged, after the Greek
fashion, in physical and mental exercises. The
complete hellenisation of Judaism, which must at one
time have seemed likely, and which Antiochus Epi
phanes especially did his utmost to bring about, waa
providentially checked by the Maccabean revolt (pp.
607f.) ; but wo must never underestimate the import
ance of this period of intercourse between Jews and
Greeks, for it was the last stage in the long process of
preparation for the coming of Christianity.

Literature. Rogers, History of Balnjlonia and As
syria ; King, Sumer and Akkad and The History of
Babylon; Goodspeed, History of Babylonia and As
syria ; Johns, Babylonia and Assyria ; Breasted,
History of Egypt ; King and Hall, Egypt and Western
Asia ; Hall, Ancient History of the Near East ; Meyer,
Geschichte des Alterthums ; Maspero, Histoire Ancienne
des Peuples de V Orient Classique ; Holm, History of
Oreece (vols. iii. and iv.) ; Garstang, The Land of the
Hittites ; Macalister, The Philistines ; Myers, The
Dawn of History ; Hogarth, The A ncient East. Articles
in EB 11 , HDB, EBi.

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

BY DR. A. II. M NEILE

1. The Dawn of Israelite History.The Bn6 (Sons
of) Israel were an offshoot from a primitive stock, a
" Semitic " race, which is found, in the dawn of his
tory, planted somewhere in the north of Arabia, At
a very early date portions of this race began to move
to various parts of Asia, and in course of time nations
were formed which we know as the Babylonians,
towards the southern end of the Euphrates ; the
Assyrians, further N. on the Tigris ; and the Aramaeans
(or Syrians), in the district between the two rivers i.e.
Aram-naharaim (p. 155) or Mesopotamia. When this
district became populated, Aramaeans began to move
westward, and established themselves along the trade
routes as far as Damascus and Hamath. The B e ne
Israel emerged, according to tradition, from " Ur of
the Chaldees " (Gen. 1131, 157), which is generally
but not universally identified with the ancient city
Uru, in southern Babylonia, but they claimed kinship
with the Aramaeans (Dt. 2Gs*), and their immigration
no doubt formed part of the general Aramcean
movement to the W. They were far from being a
nation ; they were a small band of nomads, whose
sheikh bore traditionally the name Abrain, and his
journcyings represent the wanderings of the clan.
The history, as pictured in the patriarchal narrative,
is obscure, and will probably always remain to some
extent conjectural. Tradition connected the settle
ments of the clan with ancient Canaanite sanctuaries
e.g. Shechem (Gen. 126, 33is), Bethel (12s, 13s, 28ig,
35is), Kiriath-arba or Hebron (13i8, 232, 3527),
Beersheba (21si, 2623). In some cases the narrative
attempted to account for the names of the places, or
for the fact that the Canaanite sanctuaries or objects
of worship were appropriated to the worship of Yahweh,
which gradually took place when the Israelites settled
in the country after the Exodus. " Canaanite " is
often a collective term for the various tribes and
peoples who occupied Canaan. The settled population
had reached some degree of civilisation : Phoenicians
on the Mediterranean coast, who became the chief sea
traders of the ancient world ; Amoritcs and several
other smaller tribes in the valleys and hills between
the sea and the Jordan ; and Moabites and Ammonites
on the E. of the Jordan. There were also tribes which
may be described as half-nomad, such as the Edomites,
and some smaller clans who clung to the outskirts
of cultivated land in the S. of Judah. And finally
there were true nomads, such as the Midianites,
Ishmaelites, and Amalekites, who roamed about in
the Arabian desert and made raids on the cultivated
regions.

The relations of Israel with some of these sur
rounding peoples are reflected in the stories of the
patriarchs (p. 134). If Isaac represents Israel, or per
haps a southern portion of it, Ishmael is his " brother,"
the son of Hagar, banished to a fierce life in the desert.

Jacob clearly stands for Israel as a whole, or its main
stock, atul his " brother Esau i.e. the Edomito
tribe is akin to him by blood, and at the same time-
Ins bitterest enemy. Jacob s unscrupulous cleverness,
by which he " supplants " Esau from their very birth,
is the element in their character which enabled
the Israelites to retain their hold on cultivated lands,
and to get the better of their less subtle and less
civilised neighbours. Similarly Moab and Ammon
were half-brothers, " sons " of Lot the nephew of
Abram ^ (Gen. 1936-38). And Abram begat other
" sons " by Koturah, whose names, and those of their
sons, are the names of districts and clans (25i-6).
Finally, the " sons " of Jacob by two wives, Leah
and Rachel, and two concubines, Billiah and Zilpah,
are the eponymous ancestors of tribal groups akin by
blood, who composed the confederate Israelite nation a"s
it was known in the centuries following the Exodus.

Some of these groups appear to have lived for a timo
in a half-nomad condition in the Ncgeb, or south
country, the borderland between Judah and the desert
of the Sinaitic peninsula (p. 32), until they were driven
by scarcity of food to the borders of Egypt.

2. Israel in Egypt and the Exodus. The narratives
of Joseph in Egypt, his slavery and his rise to power,
fascinating in picturesque detail and full of religious
value and beauty, may be based upon historical facts,
but are as yet unsupported by contemporary records
known to us. From the broader, national point of view
the important fact is that some Israelite clans were per
mitted, together with other desert tribes, to occupy the
marshy pastures on the NE. of Egypt in the district
or nomc of Goshen (p. 63 !. The Pharaoh who allowed
this was probably a descendant of the Semitic invaders
of Egypt, the Hyksos or Shasu chiefs (pp. 52, 54),
who would show himself favourable to the Israelites.
But the change in the attitude of the " new king "
(Ex. Is) towards them reflects the fact that the Hebrew
dynasty was driven out, and the Egyptian eighteenth
dynasty was established. Rameses II (p. 56), its most
important member, was renowned, and took consider
able care to make himself renowned, for his building
operations, in which foreign conquered tribes and
prisoners of war were employed in slave labour, among
whom was a large number of the Israelites. His son
and successor, Merneptah (p. 56), was probably the
Pharaoh of the Exodus. Egypt was first terrified and
then thrown into confusion by the " plagues," a series
of disturbing occurrences which, in God s providence,
gave an opportunity for the Israelites and a consider
able number of other enslaved foreigners to escape.
That the opportunity was successfully seized was duo
to the inspiring personality and leadership of Moses
(p. 84). His origin is lost in obscurity, but his
family was related by marriage with the Kenites, a
Midianite clan. The Israelite records relate that he

64

THE HISTOEY OF ISRAEL

married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest
of Midian. Tradition told of Moses birth, and pre
servation as an infant by tho daughter of Pharaoh,
and traced his movements as a young man from Egypt
to Midian, and from Midian to the sacred mountain,
the abode of Yahweh, whom his family and the
Kenites worshipped. Yahweh appeared to him in the
burning bush, and entrusted to him tho task of de
livering His people.

The Israelites fled with him across the Goshen
marshes into the Sinaitic peninsula. The crossing of
the " Red Sea " (yam supli, " sea," or " lake, of reeds )
was probably the crossing of the southern end of a
lake a few miles NW. of what is now called the Red
Sea (Ex. 13 17-20*). A wind laid bare a wide stretch of
shore, and when an Egyptian force pursued the fugi
tives, their chariot wheels stuck fast in the wet soil, and
the water returned upon them when the wind shifted.

Writers differ as to the route taken by the Israelites.
Some think that they moved southward to the moun
tainous range of (the modern) Sinai, and then along
the eastern arm of the Red Sea, now known as the
Gulf of Akaba, to its northernmost point at Ezion-gebcr.
Others, including the writer of this article, think that
the evidence points to the route still taken by Mecca
pilgrims, nearly due E. to Ezion-geber, and that
thence they moved NW. to the region of Kadesh
(-Barnca), to Mt. Sinai, or southward along the E.
side of the Gulf of Akaba to Mt. Horcb (Ex. 3i").
The traditions differ, and certainty is impossible.

The Books of Ex. and Nu. contain several incidents
related to have occurred in the course of the journey-
ings. In a few cases duplicates of the same narrative
have been incorporated by the compiler both before
and after the giving of tho Law at the sacred moun
tain. Historically these incidents are without im
portance, though from the religious point of view
which was that of the narrators they are of great
value as illustrating Yahweh s loving care of His people,
and His punishments inflicted for their frequent acts
of rebellion and disobedience.

3. Moses and the Law. The event which was of
central importance in Israelite history was itself re
ligious. Realising its importance, tradition sur
rounded it with terrifying phenomena, such as would
be suggested by a thunderstorm and a volcanic erup
tion a fitting framework to a Theophany. Moses had

led the mixed band of loosely connected tribes and
clans to the mountain abode of Yahweh, whom his
family and the Kenites worshipped. And into that
worship Moses admitted them as a body, thereby
uniting them by the strongest of bomK Into this
religious confederacy were drawn not only the fugi
tives from Egypt, but probably also some tribes who
had not been in Egypt, whom they found settled in
the neighbourhood of Kadesh. He caused them all
to enter into a solemn covenant to worship Yahweh
and no other deity. And the covenant was sealed
by a sacrificial feast (Ex. 244-8), celebrated jointly by
Jethro and the elders of Israel. (The earliest tradition
that has reached us as to the laws to which they
promised obedience is found in Ex. 3414,17-23,25! ;
and the same laws are embedded in a more extended
group in 2023-2833 ; but at a later date the Deca
logue (20i-i7, Dt. 5e-2 1 ) was accepted as the covenant
code. In Dt. 29 1 the remainder of the laws are even
treated as the basis of a second covenant in the land
of Moab, at the end of tho journeyings.) This event,
by which Israel for the first time was drawn into a
real inner unity, was so epoch-making that ever after
wards the laws and customs religious, social, and

ethical which grew up during the whole history of
tho nation until the close of the Canon, were ideally
ascribed to Moses. It is probable, from the nature of
things, that Moses was the founder of Israelite law in
two senses: (1) In introducing the tribes to the
worship of Yahweh he must have given directions as
to the " manner " of His cult the ritual requirements
and prohibitions which he himself had previously learnt
to observe. And the exclusive worship of one deity,
although tho existence of others was recognised, was
the starting-point for tho advance to the spiritual
monotheism which was reached at a later time.
(2) As a powerful sheikh ho must have been responsible
for order and discipline, which he maintained by his
strength of personality and sympathetic devotion to
his people. This involved decisions of many kinds
on matters of tribal justice and equity, and these must
have given him the opportunity of moulding the
character of Israel as a whole, and of planting the germ
which afterwards grew into the splendid ethical morality
of the prophets. (See further p. 84.)

4. The Settlement in Canaan. The tribes thus newly
compacted into a religious confederacy lived and wan
dered for some time in and around the Negeb, with
Kadesh as their centre. But finally the larger portion
of them made their way round the S. of the Dead Sea
to the steppes of Moab. There is some probability
in the supposition that the remainder those who hau
already been settled at Kadesh before the main body
arrived from Egypt did not accompany them to
Moab i.e. Judah and Simeon ; perhaps Levi, as some
think ; and possibly also Benjamin (but see below).
On the E. of Jordan some native tribes known as tho
Amorites, under their king Sihon, wore successfully
encountered, and also, according to the Deuteronomio
tradition, others farther N., in the district of Bashan,
under a king named Og. But the final possession of
the regions E. of the Jordan was probably a gradual
process, achieved by subsequent raids from the W.
This uncertainty is reflected by the different accounts,
at various periods, of the boundaries of the tribes on
the E. of the river, but those who finally settled there
were known as Gad (or Gilead), Reuben, and half
Manasseh. (On the origin of the tribes and the con
quest of Canaan see further pp. 24Sf -)

Religious writers of Israelite literature loved to
paint, In glowing colours, pictures of the ancient for
tunes of their race. The bulk of the Book of Joshua
may be described as an allegory, rich in spiritual
ideals, but with hardly more claim to be histonca.
than Bunyan s Holy War. It represents all the
people of God as making war upon the enemies of God
and the speedy result of their battles was the complete
extermination of every Canaanite : " all that breathed
were swept away. Jordan was dried up, so that th<
host could march over it dryshod. Joshua, who hac
been appointed as Moses successor, was encouragec
by the appearance to him of One who said that He; wai
the Captain of the host of Yahweh. The walls o
Jericho marvellously fell without a blow being struck
In the centre; of the country Ai was captured b;
stratagem, after Israel had suffered a reverse owmj
to the sin of Achan in transgressing tho herem o
" ban" (Dt. 2 34 *, Jos. 617*, Jg. li?*, PP- 99 114)
by appropriating some of the spoils of Jericho. Israe
niade another mistake in allowing the Gibeonites t
beguile them into making a treaty. When the fiv
native kings in the south heard of it, they combine-
to attack Gibeon, but they were crushed by Israel a
the battle of Beth-horon, in the lowlands of Judal
The five kings were imprisoned in a cave until the rou

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

65

was completed, and then put to death. After which a
series of sweeping conquests put Joshua in possession
of the whole territory from the hills and lowlands oi :
Judah to the southern desert. Lastly, in the N.,
Jabin, king of Hazor, gathered a great army of allies,
which was defeated by Joshua at the waters of Merom
(p. 32), and the entire population in the N. was
annihilated. The holy war was finished, the God of
Israel had gotten Himself the victory. It only re
mained for the tribes to cast lots for their respective
territories, and to take undisturbed possession of
them.

But within this .idealized narrative are embedded.,
certain ancient fragments ef a history of the settle
ment which, together with Hie Books of JuHycs and
I and 2 Samuel, yield a very different picture. They
shew that the Israelite occupation of the country was
a long, slow progress. And this is supported by recent
excavations, which make it evident that no sudden
change took place in religion or manner of life. C an-
aanite became Israelite by imperceptible stages. The
native inhabitants were strong with military resources
and an established civilisation. They possessed gar
risoned forts commanding strategic points; in parti
cular two chains of forts ran (1) along the valley, west
ward from Jerusalem, which separated the southern
from the central hills, and (2) along the southern
border of the plain of Jezrcel, the chief battle-ground
of Palestine, which formed a break between the central
and the northern hills. The Israelite tribes, devoid of
war-chariots and armed, probably, with rude weapons,
but hardy and untamed in comparison with the
civilised Canaanites, gradually filtered into the country
and planted themselves in the three separate hilly
districts. Thus these three groups of tribes were at
first distinct.

The Southern Group. Certain of the tribes, aa said
above, probably did not accompany the rest to Moab.
They appear to have made their way into the southern
hills straight from the Negeb. Judah and Simeon
moved together (Jg. Isf.). But the latter can hardly
be said to have settled at all ; they remained on the
borders of the dcsert ; where they soon melted away,
and played no part in the national traditions. This
seems to be the meaning of Gen. 497, where Levi is
coupled with Simeon as meeting the same late. It
will be noticed that these tribes, which formed a geo
graphical group by themselves, arc three of the first
four " sona :! of Leah (Gen. 2931-35). Her eldest
son, Reuben, may possibly have been in the earliest
days one of this group ; but Reuben is found, in his
tory, only on the E. of Jordan, in a subordinate
condition (Dt. 335 ; cf. Gen. 494). The southern group
were in friendly relations, and gradually amalgamated,
with non-Israelite clans Calebites and Kenizzites,
Kenites, Jerahmeelites, and others.

The Central Group. This consisted of Ephrafm and
Manasseh, the " house of Joseph," who was the elder
son of Rachel. They found themselves cramped for
room in their hill forests, and were obliged to enlarge
their borders by cutting down the trees (Jos. 17i4-iS).
And Manasseh eventually sent some of their numbers
as settlers E. of the Jordan. The little warlike tribe
of E?RJamin was also a son of Rachel, which may
imply that it was at first associated with Ephraim and
Mananseh. In this case the name, which means
" Southerner," refers to its position in relation to
these two tribes. However, it separated itself from
them in the course of its history, and threw in its lot
with Judah.

The Northern Group. Five tribes Issachar, Zebu-

Ion, Naphtali, Asher, and Dan are found N. of the
plain of Jezreel. There is evidence (pp. 248L) whicii
suggests that Asher was an Israelite tribe which occu
pied its territory, and was probably amalgamated with
the Canaanites of the district, before the other tribes
entered the country. Dan settled at first in the low
lands on the W. of Judah ; but, i>eing hemmed in
on either side by the Canaanites and Philistines,
most of its fighting members migrated to the N.,
and settled in a sina!) district near the source of the
Jordan.

Having made their way thus into the various
parts of the country, the Israelites were very far
from being in the position of conquerors. This is
clearly indicated in Jg. 127-36. The process by whicii
this was achieved was not complete until the reign of
David.

5. Tho Period of the Judges. The several com
munities, eacli governed by its xkcikli* or elders, now
began to enlarge their borders. They contrived to
make their way into the villages in the plains. Some
times they became friendly with the natives, inter
married with them, and all too frequently took part
in their worship of the local gods and goddesses. They
gradually gained possession of villages, and even of
walled towns, and made the natives their slaves.
From time to time, as they grew moro powerful, they
fought with them. When this occurred, all the
Israelites in a district would follow a man of char
acter and courage, who placed himself at their head.
After a successful encounter this chief would be hon
oured more highly in the district than any of the local
elders, and thus became a " judge " or petty king.
The r-arracives of the judges must not be considered
as successive episodes in whicii all, or even a large
portion, of Israel took part. They are specimens of
actions which must frequently have taken place in
various districts. Four principal actions are recorded,
in which the " judges " who took the lead were Ehud,
Barak, Gideon, and Jephthah. respectively. (1) The
Moabites under their king, Eglon, gained a footing
in the district round Jericho, and exacted tribute.
Ehud, who conducted the caravan bearing the tribute,
assassinated Eglon, and gathered a force which ear-
off every Moabifce found W. of the Jordan. (2) A
more formidable battle was fought against a northern
coalition under Sisera, king of Harosheth, described
in the ancient poem in Jg. 5 (the " Song of Deborah ").
Barak, at the head of contingents from six of the tribes,
routed the enemy at Taanach, and Sisera fled, only
to be assassinated by a woman. In Jg. 4 the compiler
has confused this battle with that against Jabin, king
of Hazor, related in Jos. 11. (3) The Midianites (Ex.
2 1 5 ) severely harassed the Manasoites ; but Jerubbaal
(Gideon) collected troops, from which he selected
three hundred men, who surrounded the enemy s
camp at night and threw them into a sudden panic.
The Ephraimites cut off all that were W. of the Jordan,
and Gideon s army continued the pursuit on the other
side of the river. (For the double thread of which
Jg. 6-8 is composed, sec Comm.) (4) The Gileaditea
were obliged to defend themselves against a neigh
bouring nation, probably the Ammonites, but the
compiler has confuted them with the Moabites.
Jephthah, who wan living the life of a freebooter,
was invited to take the command against them, and
defeated them. His rash vow which led him to
sacrifice his daughter, and his quarrel with the Eph-
raimites, are incidents in the story.

Beside these four engagements, the compiler has
preserved other narratives : the unsuccessful attempts

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

of a half-caste adventurer, Abimelech, a son of Gideon
by a C anaauite mother, to make himself king over
Shechom mid the surrounding district ; the individual
acts of prowess against the Philistines of Samson, a
pojHihir hero of Israelite folklore ; and some intima
tions of other local struggles under the names of
Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abd.cn, which art; prob
ably (in the case of Jair certainly) names of elaus or
districts, not of individuals. On Othnicl and Shamgar
cf. Jg. 87-11* and 31*.

The result of these occasional struggles was to give
the Israelites a firmer footing in tin; country. And,
in times of peace, friendly contact and intermarriage
with the natives led to the acquisition of the art of
agriculture and other advantages of a settled civilisa
tion. It also led, as said above, to frequent partici
pation in their worship. But a further important
r suit ensued: by gaining larger tiaets of t.nitory
the tribes approached a closer unity of interests,
which created a growing need of centra! government.
So long as each township, with its surrounding villages,
was managed only by an oligarchy or elders, constant
friction was inevitable. But the p!<.-;tige accorded 1;>
the local " judges " paved the way for the idea of a
monarchy, and a desiiv was f.-lt for a king to " judge "
or govern them and to lead them in battle. To effect
this was the work of Samuel.

6. Tho Beginning of Kingship Samuel, the son of
Ephraimite parents, was of repute as a " seer " (p. 42s)
in t he town of Rani ah and the surrounding district. He
was moved bv a Clod-sent convict !MI th-U Isiael must
have a king. And when Saul, a line young Benjamite,
came to him to inquire of Clod respecting some lost
asses, he felt sum that here was the man for hi;; pur
pose, partly, perhaps, because Benjamin formed a .sort
of connecting link between the Joseph tribes and .iudaii.
He anointed him privately, and bade him seize, the
first opportunity that oifered itself of averting his
authority. The opportunity came when the Ammon
ites, under their king Nanash, attacked Jabesh in
Gilead. Saul acted in the same manner as any of the
" judges." Coming back one day from his work in
the field, he heard of the desperate plight of Jabcsh,
and sent round a ferocious summons which brought
him a strong force of men, with which he relieved
the town. On his return ho Mas made king at
Gilgal.

Some time elapsed, of which the r. -cords preserve no
account. But when his son Jonathan was old enough
to be a skilled soldier, Saul led the Israelite armies
in an attempt to throw off the yoke of the Philis
tines (pp. 5Gf.), who had gained considerable power in
the country. (On an earlier occasion, before the Israelite
armies were under the command of a capable leader,
the Philistines had won a victory, in which they cap
tured the Ark, and plunged Isra.el into despair.) 1 S.
1819-23 gives a description, perhaps somewhat exag
gerated, of the straits to which Israel was reduced.
At the battle of Mid j mash a victory was won, but it did
not put an end to the trouble. Throughout the whole
of Saul s reign the Philistines harassed the country by
predatory raids. Several skirmishes took place, and
in one of them Saul and Jonathan met their death
at Mt. Gilboa (pp. 2PL). During the latter years oi
his life Saul became a victim to nervous melancholia.
A harpist named David soothed him with music when
the attacks occurred, and gained the king s affection,
so that he made him his armour-bearer. But the
success of this young warrior in the Philistine battles,
and the popularity which he won, caused melancholia
to take the form of jealousy, and suspicion that David

was plotting against him. David was obliged to leave
the- court. He went to the fortress of Adullam, where
he was joined by a band of companions, which quickly
grew in numbers, so that he became a freebooting
chief. Repeated attempts on Saul s part to catch
him weir; unsuccessful. For a time the Philistine
king, Achish of Gath, received him as a friend, and
allowed him and his troop to occupy the border town
of Ziklag, whence the} made raids on non-Israelite
tribes in the Negeb, and gained the friendship of the
southern districts of Judali by sending them presents
from the spoils. Thus, when Saul died at Gilboa,
Judah was ready to rally round David and make him
king.

This outline of Saul s life is expanded in the later
traditions, which treat of the two chief personages
of the time, Samuel and David. Samuel was the most
influential of a group of " prophets," earnest adherents
to the old tribal religion of Yahweh, who roused them
selves to ecstasy by j-iu^ic and dancing, thereby keeping
alive the belief in Yahweh, whose Spirit was understood
to be the cause, of tho ecstasy (p. 430). But in later
times, when "prophets" had developed into some-
thi. -.:: hi her and nobler, the history was rewritten from
this more religious standpoint. In these latter strata
of narrative Samuel is pictured as the great religious
adviser of ki. .Lj and people. Born in answer to his
mother s prayers, dedicated to God s service from
infancy, he received as a child a Divine message of
rebuke to Eli, the priest of Shiloh, and all Israel knew
that he was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.
He " judged the people in Mizpah," and Yahweh
threw them into a panic by a thunderstorm. Tho
wriier of this narrative had experienced the misrule
and tyranny of kings, and he expresses his condemna
tion of them by representing Samuel as vehemently
oe,;iosed to the appointment of a king. Tho people
ciamoured for it, and God told him that they must
have their way. lie summoned a national assembly
at Mizpah, where Saul was chosen by lot. Samuel then
made a speech, warning them that Yahweh s favour,
which they had hitherto enjoyed throughout their
In -lory, would be forfeited by them if they and their
chf-sen king did not continue to fear and servo Him.

But Saul soon disobeyed Yah well s commands, de-
liv< red by His great prophet. Samuel bade Saul
undertake a religious war of extermination against
the Amalekites, but he disobeyed, in that ho spared
Agag, their king, and the choicest animals of the spoil
.eri ice. Samuel accordingly declared that the
kingdom would be taken from him, and the prophet
forthwith anointed David, the youngest son of Jesse,
marking him out as the future king. As in the ca.se
of MOS.-S and Samuel, tradition enriched history in its
accounts of David s life. As a shepherd boy he killed
wild beasts with his own hands. While still too young
to be a soldier he killed a Philistine giant, Goliath.,
with a sling and a stone, and was taken into Saul s
household. There he formed an ideal friendship with
Jonathan. But his successes in battle roused Saul s
jealousy, ancl he fled, in danger of his life, to the hills
of Judrea. There he wandered, not, as in the earlier
narrative, an outlaw chief with a largo band of fol
lowers, but an almost solitary fugitive chased by
Saul. This late stratum of the narrative ends
with Saul s visit to the witch at Endor, when the
shade of the great prophet again rebuked him for
disobedience, and predicted that David would become
king and that Israel would be defeated by the
Philistines.

7. The Reign of David, David was chosen as king

THE HISTOEY OF ISRAEL

67

hy the Jndrean tribes whose friendship he had won.
As a counter move, Abner, Saul s captain, set up as
king at Malianaim Saul s son Ishbaal (Ishbosheth).
But a defeat in battle at the hands of Joab, David s
captain, followed by Abner "s deseition, left Ishbaal
helpless. He was murdered by two of his own officers,
and the way was clear for David to unite the wholo
country under his control.

In the consolidation of his kingdom ho began with a
strategic movement of incalculable importance tlio
capture of the almost impregnable fortress oi Zioii
from the Jebusites, accomplished by the courage of
Joab, He then attacked the Philistines, so long the
scourge of the country. Brief accounts of two en
gagements have survived (2 8. 517-25), and the sum
mary statement that ho " took Mctheg-ammah "
(81 *). Their opposition was broken, and they never
again became a national peril. The coniliets with
the countries bordering on Israel were apparently
numerous, but are, for the most- part, summarised by
the compiler as briefly ns possible in 2 S. 8. Moab,
Aram (Syria), Edom, and Ammon wore worsted in a
series of victories.

But David s rise to power spoilt him. Ho became
in some respects a typical Oriental monarch, in tho
course of the Ammonite campaign occurred the dark
incident of his illicit love for Bathshoba, and tho
machinations by which her husband, Uriah, a sturdy
soldier, was done to death that his wife: might be
married to tho king. Tho son that she bore to David
died in infancy. Like other Oriental nionarchs, he
assumed royal state, with polygamy its usual accom
paniment, which soon led to opposition, violence, and
crime within his own family. His son Absalom, a
pampered favourite, killed a half-brother, Amnon, for
a wrong done to his sister, and iied. Joab, realising
that he was hatching mischief, with difficulty persuaded
David to fetch him home. But the mischief was
done. Absalom gained the adherence of the northern
tribes, and the rebellion became so formidable that
David, fled to Mahanaim. A battle ensued, in which
Absalom fled, and was caught up in the branches of
a tree, where Joab killed him, contrary to David s
expressed wish. David returned in safety to Jeru
salem, but embittered against Joab. The victory,
however, did not put an end to the tension between
the two parts of the nation. An obscure quarrel
which arose between them out of a mere trifle gave
an opportunity to Sheba, a member of Saul s tribe,
to rally the northerners. But this fresh revolt was
crushed, again by tho iron hand of Joab. Two further
troubles occurred in the course of the reign, a famine
and a pestilence, both ascribed to Yahweh s anger,
and both brought to an end by propitiating Him
in the former case by hanging seven of Saul s song
in blood-revenge for some Gibeonites whom Saul had
slain, in the latter by an animal sacrifice (2 S. 21i-i4,
24). After Sheba s revolt no records of the reign have
survived until the aged king is pictured on his death
bed. Adonijah, a son of one of his many concubines,
was plotting to seize the crown, with the help of Joab
and the priest Abiathar. But David nominated
Solomon, Bathsheba s son, as his successor, and called
upon Benaiah, the priest Zadok, and the prophet
Nathan, to help him. Zadok anointed him, and
Adonijah at once submitted.

8. The Reign of Solomon. Solomon was a tyrant
and a man of iron, who chastised the nation with
whips. Still holding together the N. and the S. in
a precarious unity, and troubled by little foreign
opposition (Hadad, an Edomite, and Rezon, an Ara-

msoan, are mentioned as giving some trouble, 1 K,
1114-25), he was able to attain to his truly Oriental
ideal of barbaric magnificence. In order, doubtless,
to cement political treaties, he married a large number
of foreign wives, including the daughter of the Pharaoh
of Egypt. He strengthened the country by fortifying
towns at strategic points. By alliance with Hiram,
king of Tyre, lie became possessor of a fleet which
traded along the Arabian coasts, starting from tho
port at Elath, which the Eciomito rising had not suc
ceeded in taking from him. Wealth tradition pic
tured it as fabulous began to pour in. But for tho
most part it found its way into Jerusalem, and con
tributed to the luxury of his court and to the splendour
of his palace and royal sanctuary, and of the palace
of his Egyptian queen. The exchequer was further
enriched by taxation : twelve districts were mapped
out, each in command of an officer, who levied pro
visions for the palace for one month in tho year.
Moreover, the king s extensive buildings were erected
by the forced labour of Israelites (1 K. 013-17, 1128).
O ne passage (020-22) states that only Canaanites
were thus employed ; but the amalgamation of Israelites
with the natives was probably too far advanced to
admit of this distinction.

Solomon s reign had three permanent results: (1)
His tyranny roused seething discontent. Jeroboam,
son of Nebat, an overseer of the forced labour in
Epbraim, who is said to have been incited by a
prophet, Ahijah tho Shilonite, attempted revolt. He
failed for the moment, and fled to Egypt. But tho
seed of disruption was sown, and would soon bear
fruit, (2) The absorption of wealth by the royal
court gave rise to class hatred between rich and poor,
and the oppression of the latter by tho former, which
undermined the unity and vitality of the national life.
(3) On the other hand, the erection of tho king s
sanctuary, the Temple, in Jerusalem provided a nucleus
for all that was best in the national worship, and at a
later date became, in theory at least, the only sanctuary
of the one and only God, Yahweh.

9. The Disruption. When Solomon died, Jeroboam
returned from Egypt. To the northern tribes, who
were clamouring for release from the burdens of taxa
tion and forced labour, Rehoboam, Solomon s son,
declared with insolent folly that ho intended to add
to them. This brought about the disruption, which
was never healed. Jeroboam became king of the
northerners, who can henceforth bo called Israel, as
distinct from Juaah.

The compiler states, " There was war between
Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually " (1 K. 1430),
but no details are given. Rehoboam was about to
mako an attempt to recover his lost power, but was
dissuaded by a prophet (1221-24). Jeroboam gave
permanence "to the breach by providing for Israel a
religious bond of union. He enriched Bethel, the
royal sanctuary, by setting up a golden bull, as a
symbol of Yahweh, and consecrated priests to minister
there. (The erection of the second bull, at JXin,
is doubted by many writers.) This, aa he expected,
proved a strong counter-attraction to tho Temple
at Jerusalem. The historian, who wa.s imbued with
the later spirit of tho " Deuteronomic " reform, which
regarded the use of all images as idolatry, and all
non-Levitical priesthood as invalid, never wearies
of denouncing Jeroboam aa he " who made Israel to
sin." And he relates tho death of his child as his
punishment, predicted by Ahijah (14i-i3), and the
story of the prophet from Judah, who rebuked him
at Bethel (13).

3 THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

10. The Kings. The history of each kingdom falls into four periods, as follow, (

ISRAEL

pp. 119f.):

1. Miscellaneous king? 1 -, 937-887 B.

2. House of Ornri. 887-842

3. House of Jehu, 842-745

4. Miscellaneous kings, 745-722

1. Struggle towards prosperity, 937-851

Jeroboam J
Nadab
Ba.asha
Elah .
Zimri .
Ornri .
Ahab .
Ahaziah
Jehoram
Jehu .
Jehoahti: ,
Jchoash
Jeroboam IT
Zechariah
Shallam
Men ah en i
Pekahiah
Pckah .
Hosh ea

JTJDAH

1 K. 1225-1420

1525-31

1527-l -7

IGs-io
169-20
16i6-23
1629-22.10
22 49 , 2 K. liS

2 K. 3-926

0, 10

13 1-9, 22f.

13ic 21,24*., 14
1423-29

158-12

15 10-15

1514-22

1523-26

1025-31, 165-9

1530, 17i-23

2. Paganism and weakness, 851-830

3. Vigorous advance, S36--735

4. Dscline and fall, 735-580

Rehoboam .

Abijah

Asa .

Jehoshaphat

Jehoram

Ahaziah

Athaliah

Joash

A in a zi ah

Azariah (Uzzial

Jotham

Ahaz

Hezekiah .

Manasseh .

Ainon

Josiah

Jehoahaz

Jehoiakim .

Jehoinchin .

Zedekiah

11. Israel, Political Unrest. The bulk of Israel s
history consists in her relations with the foreign powers
Aram ( 12) and Assyria ( 13), and with Judah ( 14).
And since the history was compiled by religious writers
with a predominantly religious purpose, the internal
events recorded are mostly those connected with re
ligion. The small remainder, which may conveniently
be sketched here, is almost confined to the confusion,
little short of anarchy, which prevailed in the first
and the last period. The Norihern kingdom snatched
from Rohoboam by Jeroboam v,as snatched again and
again by others.

Nadab, son of Jeroboam I, was besieging Gibbothon,
a Philistine town, when ho was killed by Baasha.
Baasha s son Elah, and the whole family, were killed
by his captain Zimri. But Omrl, who was in command
of the siege of Gibbethon, was sot up as king by the
army ; and Zimri in despair burnt the palace at
Tirzah (p. 30) over his own head. Civil war followed,
a man named Tibni being supported by " half the
people." But Omri succeeded in defeating him. By a
vigorous reign he began to give strength and stability
to the country. With the eye of a good general he
perceived the strategic strength of Samaria (p. 30), and
made it the capital, which it continued to bo until the
northern kingdom fell.

1 K. 12i-24, 1421-31

15 i-8

15 9 -2 4

22i-5o

2 K. 816-24

825-29, 916-29

11 1-20

11, 12

14i 20

142 if., 15 1-7

]u5-7,32-38

16

18-20

2 Ch. 10-12
13
14-16

21

22i-9

22 ic-23 i 5

22io-2427

25

26

27

28

29-32

33i-2o

3321-25

34, 35

36i-4

865-8

869,10

36n-2i

2119-26

22-23 so

2331-33

23 3 4-24 7

248-i6,2527-3o

24i7-2;>22

In the last period, Zechariah was killed by a usurper,
Shallum, and he, a. month later, by Mcnahem. Mena-
hem s son Pekahiah was killed by his captain Pekah,
and ho in tarn by Hoshea. The feverish unrest of
this period was an immediate sequel of the prosperous
reign of Jeroboam II. The country had been flooded
with wealth, of the moral results of which Amos and
Hosca supply terrible evidence the rapacity of the
rich and their cruel oppression of the poor, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like. The political
disorder reflected the social disorder, which, as the
prophets saw already, spelt ruin. The sufferings at
the hands of Aram were as nothing compared with
those which Assyria would inflict. The country,
corrupted by luxury, and divided against itself by class
hatred, would fall a helpless prey before the great
world-power ordained by Yahwch to be the punish
ment of the national sins.

12. Israel and Aram (Syria). Aram is the name as
given in the Hebrew Bible ; Syria, the equivalent in
the LXX and Vulg., is adopted in the English versions.
That Israel and Aram were closely akin is shown by
the fact that they spoke different dialects of the same
language, and would be, for the most part, quite in
telligible to each other. Of the Aramsean states the
most westerly, with Damascus as its capital, lay im-

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

69

mediately to the N. of the Lebanon Jango, and could
not fail to bo engaged in frequent border struggles
with Israel.

The defeats inflicted upon them by David, and tho
hostility of Rezon against Solomon, have already
been mentioned. After the disruption Baasha made
a treaty with them. But when he invaded Judah,
Asa, the Judfcan king, bribed Benhadad I, king of
Aram, to help him, which he did by attacking soil)* 1
Israelite towns, thus drawing away Baasha. Omri
was also attacked ; ho lost some towns, and ceded to
the Aramaeans some streets or quarters in Samaria.
That he was not crippled, however, is shown by his
defeat of the Moabites, as related in Mcsha s inscription
(the " Moabite Stone," p. 34, 1 K. 3 1-27*). Subdued by
David, they now tried to regain their independence ; in
this they succeeded in the reign of Omri s successors.
Against Ahab tho Aramaeans made further attempts.
Benhadad II attacked Samaria. Ahab at iirst acceded
to his demands ; but when they became more extrava
gant he refused, and won the ensuing battle. War,
according to custom, ceased for tho winter ; but in
the following spring tho Aramaeans brought a large
force, which was again defeated so decisively that
Ahab was in a position to dictate terms. Tho towns
lost by Oniri were restored, and streets in Damascus
were ceded to Israel. In the peace which ensued,
Ahab joined a coalition of Aramaean states in. opposi
tion to Assyria ; but though the coalition was worsted
at Karkar, no decisive result was reached. Ahab
was now foolish enough to break with Aram. He per
suaded Jehoshaphat, the Judacan king, to join him in
recovering Ramoth-gilead, which had been lost in
one of the preceding reigns. Encouraged by a band
of courtier prophets, but warned by the bold and
conscientious Micaiah, son of Iinlah, the two kings
undertook the expedition. Ahab fought in disguise,
but was mortally wounded, and the expedition failed.

After tho death of his son Ahaziah, as tho result of
a fall from a roof chamber, an incident which tradition
connected with tho prophet Elijah (2 K. 1), another
son, Jshorain, succeeded his brother. The Aramaeans
now began to press heavily. But at this point Elisha
came to the front as the king s prophetical adviser.
Tho compiler has preserved a group of narratives
about him (2f.), preserved, as were the Elijah stories,
by tho prophetic bands. Some of them relate his
dealings with Aram. The course of events is some
what obscure, since the name of tho Israelite king is
not given in 5-8. The compiler represents the whole
series of events as belonging to Jchoram s reign, as
follows. The Aramaeans made several attacks, but
the king was in each ease warned by Elisha. They
besiege, d the prophet in Dothan, but the troops were
disabled by temporary blindness, and he Jed them to
Samaria to the king. The king would have killed
them, but Elisha persuaded him to be conciliatory.
The result was that " the bands of Aram came no more
into the land of Israel " (623). This sentence, and
tho friendly relations between the prophet and the
king, suggest that the above narrative should be
placed at a later point than Jehoram s reign, after
the dynasty of Omri, which was hostile to Elijan and
Elisha, had been brought to an end. After tho sen
tence in 23 the compiler begins, in the very next
verse, a narrative of Bonhadad s siege of Samaria.
Tho town was brought to the extremity of famine.
But Elisha, whom the king (no doubt Jehoram)
blamed as the cause of the trouble, and determined
to put to death, predicted that food would soon be
cheap. That night a panic dispersed tha enemy, aud

they nod from their camp, i our lepers, who had
gone thither to give themselves up in tho hopo of food,
reported the fact in the city, and tho camp was at
once looted by tho famished population. To the same
reign probably belongs the well-known story of
Naaman (">).

The punishment of the dynasty of Omri was de
liberately designed by KJisha. Benhadad IT. was a
weak king, who indulged in drink when he should
have been fighting ; and he now lay seriously ill.
ElLiha was evidently in private communication with
Damascus. He wont thither, and incited Hazael, an
Aramaean military officer, to assassiuat. his master
and seize the crown, lie also sent n young member
of his prophetic band to anoint Jehu, then an Israelite
captain, who was fighting at Ramoth-gilead, which
Jehoram was attempting, as-; his father had done, to
recover with the help of tho Judcean king, Ahaziah.
Jehu s savago attack upon tho royal families of N.
and o. will be related below ( 18).

Hazael, having followed Elisha s hint, and usurped
the Aramaean throne, began a series of formidable
inroads upon Israel. He is said to have won from
Jehu all the Israelite territory E. of tho Jordan. Ho
even attacked Gath and Judah ; but Joash, the dudsean
king, sent him a heavy payment, and he retired
(12i7f.). Then Hazael and Benhadad III, his son
and successor, continued their victories, so that
Jehoahaz, the next king of Israel, was reduced to
extremities. But at this crisis " Yahwch gave Israel
a saviour, so that they went out from under tho hand
of Aram" (13s). This refers either to Jehoasll, the
next king, or to the fact that the Assyrians now ap
peared in the W., and Jehoash was able, by three im
portant victories, to turn tho tide of defeat. His
work was continued by Jeroboam li, who gained a
series of brilliant victories, bringing the country to
tho highest state of prosperity that it ever reached.
(The moral results of this have already been indicated
ia 11.) But Assyria was now rising to tho zenith
of her power, and tho small western states were help
less. The rapid advance of Israel was followed by as
rapid a fall. A vain attempt to avert tho onslaught
of Assyria was made in tho reign of Pekah, by an
alliance betv/een Israel and Aram. This will be
related in the next section.

13. Israel and Assyria. As soon as Assyria, under
Ashurnasirpal, began her movement into Western
Asia, the fate of the little kingdom of Israel may be
said to have been sealed. Omri was known to the
Assyrians ; his successful reign had been important
enough to cause their inscriptions to speak of Israel
as " the land of the house of Khumri " (Omri), and
even Jehu is mistakenly called the son of Omri. Tho
earliest hostile contact was at Karkar, where Ahab,
as already stated, was in conjunction with some
Aramaean states. Shalmaneser III (till recent! 7
called II) attacked Aram, and ultimately besieged
Hazael in Damascus. Johu, as well as Tyro and
Sidon, warded off an attack by paying tribute, as
related on the " Black Obelisk," which fixes the date
as 842 B.C. The next Assyrian king, Shamshi-ramman,
was occupied for a short time in his own country, and
Hazael took advantage of the interval to gain his
victories over Jehu and Jehoahaz. But in the reign
of the latter the Assyrians reappeared under Ramman-
nirari III, and Israel was then relieved from the
Aramtean pressure. During the reign of Jeroboam II
the Assyrians, under three of their kings, were again
occupied at home, defending themselves against
enemies ; this gave Lhe Israelite king the opportunity

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

for his extended successes. But Israel s fall was at
hand. In the midst of the disorders which followed
the overthi-ow of Jehu s dynasty by Shallum s murder
of Zechariali, the Assyrians again came westward
under Tiglath-pileser III, or Pui. Directly he ap
peared, Meiiahem paid him tribute, together with
Rezon of Damascus and Hiram of Tyre. The two
great powers, Assyria and Egypt, were now in close
proximity, separated only by the debateable ground
of the .small Palestinian states. When the Assyrians
retired, Israel became divided against itself in it:-
foreign policy. One party supported the king in
submission to Assyria-, but the other wished to "buy
the help of Egypt, liosea picture.! in despairing lan
guage the hopelessness of the situation (e.g. Hos. 7n,
12i). At last Pekah took the lead of the pro-Egyptian
party, killed Pekahiah, Menahem s son, and joined a
coalition against Assyria consisting of Damascus,
Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon, and Gaza. But to make suc
cess possible all the Palestinian slates must join.
When Judah refused, IVkah, with Rezin (better
Rezon) of Damascus, tried to force Ahaz the king by
raiding Judah, and even investing Jerusalem (Is. 7ij.
But before they could take the city the Assyrians
suddenly appeared in Northern Israel, in 734. (The
action of Ahaz at this crisis will be related in 10.)
They crushed the coalition, annexing most of the terri
tory N. of the plain of Jezreel, and deported the popu
lation to Assyria, and then prevented any help coming
from Egypt by capturing Ashkelon and Gaza. Pekah
was killed by Hoshea, a member of the pro- Assyrian
party, and Pul placed him on the throne, subject, of
course, to tribute. This he paid as lo-.ig as Pul live-!.
But at his death in 727 there was a general revolt
against his successor, Shalmaneser V. At his approach
Hoshea did homage and brought tribute, but directly
his back was turned, Hoshea in 72f>-4 appealed to
Egypt, then in the hands of an Ethiopian usurper,
a military captain named 80 or Sibi. Before he could
send help, Shalmaneser bei-icgecl Samaria, after cap
turing Hoshea. The town, being too strong to bo
stormed, was reduced by famine. Before its capture
Shalmaneser died, but it was completed by his suc
cessor, Sargon, in 72.S. Almost the entire population
was deported to Assyria, and foreign conquered nations
from the E. were settled in their place.

These heterogeneous peoples followed their various
cults, the amalgamation of which with the worship of
Yahweh is described in 2 K. 1724-41. Their numbers
were afterwards increased by further importations
(Ezr. 42, gf.). The community became known as the
Samaritans.

14. Israel and Judah. The compiler of 1 and 2
Kings has arranged a scheme of synchronisms for the
kings of Israel and Judah, but it is sometimes arti
ficial and of no historical value. The precise over-
lappings of the several reigns are quite unimportant.
All that need be studied are the occasions when the
two kingdoms come into contact. As has already
been pointed out, they were never really one nation
in a political sense, but only in religion, although a
precarious unity had been maintained under David
and Solomon. Judah lasted a century longer than
Israel, but for some 250 years they existed side by
side. During the dynasty of Omri they preserved a
mutual alliance, but before and after it their contact
was always collision.

The folly of Rehoboam, which led to the disruption,
and the steps taken by Jeroboam to make the breach
permanent, have been mentioned in 9. The com
piler, who states that " there was war between Reho

boam and Jeroboam continually/ makes a similar
remark about A aijah and Jeroboam (1 K. 157), but,
as before, no details are given ; and again about Asa
and Baasha. In this case we learn that Baasha in
vaded Judah, and fortified Ramah, a few miles north
of Jerusalem, as an outpost from which to harass the
enemy. But Asa bribed the Aramaeans to draw away
Baasha ( 12), and demolished Ramah.

The dynasty of Omri brought a thirty years in-
terludo in the hostilities. Ahab began "by seeking
the help of Jahoshaphat in the disastrous attempt
to recover Ramoth-gilead from the Aramseans ( 12).
A little later, the same Judsean king was approached
by Ahab s son. Jehoshaphat had made himself master
of Ezion-gcber, and, like Solomon, had built a fleet
to trade along the Arabian coasts. His first expedition
failed, the ships being " broken," either by a storm
or enemies. But when Ahaziah offered to join him
in manning another Meet, Jehoshaphat declined. This,
however, does not seem to have caused friction, for
soon afterwards Jehoshaphat was again fighting in con
junction with Israel. The Moabites, defeated by Omri,
had recently rebelled from Israel s suzerainty. Jeho-
ram, Ahaziah s brother, tried to reduce them, and
persuaded Jehoshaphat to join him, together with the
KdoMirtes, who were at that time subject to Judah.
They approached from the southern end of the Dead
yea, to take the Moabites in the rear, but in doing
:-o were in want of water. Elisha, roused to prophetic
ecstasy by music, bade them dig trenches. In tho
morning the water in the trenches looked crimson,
perhaps with the early sunlight. Tho Moabites,
thinking it was blood, and that the allied armies had
begun to slaughter one another, advanced incautiously
and were routed. But the victory was not decisive.
The Moabite king, besieged in Kir-hareseth, and
reduced to despair, sacrificed his son on tho city
wall ; and the allied armies were so terrified at tho
wrath of Chemosh, the Moabite god, that they with
drew.

The alliance, however, did not cease. It was
further cemented by the marriage of Jehoram, king
of Judah, to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and
Jezebel. It also led to one more joint action.
Ahaziah, son of the last king -and of Athaliah, gavo
his help to Jehoram of Israel in another attempt to
recover Ramoth-gilead. But it failed. Jehoram was
wounded and returned to Jezreel, where he was visited
by Ahaziah. Both were there put to death by Jehu.
The house of Omri was thus brought to an end, and
never again was there a possibility of alliance between
Israel and Judah.

It was perhaps with a view to avenging the Judrean
blood shed by Jehu that Amaziah challenged to battle
Jehoash, Jehu s grandson. Amaziah was elated at
recent victory over the Edomites ( 15), and the severe
losses recently suffered by Israel at the hands of the
Arama?ans ( 12) may have seemed to offer him a
favourable opportunity. But Israel was making a
quick recovery from her losses. Jehoash replied to
Amaziah with the scornful parable of the thistle that
wanted his son to marry the cedar s daughter. But
Amaziah persisted, and suffered a severe defeat at Beth-
shemesh. Jehoash brought him back to Jerusalem,
where he destroyed part of the wall, and took heavy
payment and hostages. The people were so angry with
Amaziah that they put him to death and placed his
son on the throne.

The only remaining occasion on which Israel and
Judah came into contact was the Syro-Ephrairnite
attack, by which Pekah and Rezon (Rezin) sought to

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

71

force Ahaz to join thoir coalition ago.inst Assyria
( 12, 16).
15. Judah and Neighbouring Peoples. As in tho

case of Israel, tho bulk of Judah s secular history
consists of her relations with foreign powors. From
tho time when Israel fell, Assyria and then Babylon
filled the wholo outlook. But conflicts with powers
nearer home may first bo briefly noticed. From a
military point of view Judah was singularly insig
nificant. It was small about tho size of Lincoln
shire a nd unwariiko. Its only chance of existence,
as the prophets saw, lay in its mountainous seclusion.
But its rulers persistently refused to realise its limita
tions, and plunged it frequently into foreign turmoils.
Rehoboam, having hopelessly failed to retain hia
hold on the northern tribes, suffered a further reverse at
the hands of Egypt. Shishak (Shcshonk I), a Libyan
who had usurped the Egyptian throne from the Pharaoh
with whom Solomon had been in alliance, invaded Judah,
and even Israel, although he had been friendly to
Jeroboam I (p. 58, 1 K. 1425 *). Ho carried off the large
treasure with which Solomon had enriched the Temple
and palace. Asa, when attacked by Baasha, would
have met with yet another defeat if he had not called
in the help of the Aramaeans ( 12}. Jehoshaphat was
more successful He seems to have gained possession
of the Philistine town Libnah (2 K. 822) ; and, still
holding the suzerainty over Edom. (ib.) which gave
him control over Ezion-geber, with its port Elath on
the Gulf of Akaba, he built a fleet for trading purposes,
which, however, was destroyed ( 14). His expeditions
with Ahab at Ramoth-gilead, and with Jehoram to
reduce the Moabites, have been related, and belong
rather to the history of Israel than of Judah. His
weak successor, Jehoram, lost Libnah, and Edom at
the same time successfully revolted, although in 821
there seems to be an obscure account of a victory over
it. But access to the Red Sea, which he had lost,
was a tempting prize, which was again won by Amaziah
in a battle with Edom in the Valley of Salt, when he
captured tho fortress of Sola (147). Elath remained
in Judah s hands during tho successful rule of Azuria ft
(Ussiah) and his regent son, Jotham ; but the use
which they made of it was of no interest to the com
piler. Ahaz, like Jehoram, was a weak man, who
lost all that had been gained. In the Syro-Ephraimite
invasion of Judah, Rezon (Rezin) " recovered Elalh for
Aram [read Edom] " (IGo). Hezekiah was more capable;
but the only victories recorded of him in Kings are those
by which he defeated the Philistines in and around
C4aza (18s). All the remaining instances of Judaan
enterprise which the compiler preserves must be studied
in connexion with Assyria ( 16) and Babylon ( 17).

16. Judah and Assyria. The tragic history of
Judah 3 relations with the great Asiatic power can
be told more fully, material being provided not only
in Assyrian inscriptions, but also in the preaching of
Isaiah. In her hilly isolation, at a distance from the
main highroads which connected Egypt with the N.
and E., it might have been possible for Judah to remain
intact. As Isaiah said : "In quietness and confidence
shall be your strength." But a bold and far-seeing-
policy counts for nothing in the face of panic. When
Tiglath-Pileser III (Pu!) had begun his victories over
the western states, Pekah of Israel and Rezon (Rezin)
of Damascus raided Judah in order to force Ahaz to
join their coalition, or, failing that, to depose him and
to place on the Judsean throne a Ben-Tabcel, a puppet
of their own (Is. 7e). The result was a panic in
Jerusalem (2), and Ahaz determined to renounce
his independence and to pay tribute to Assyria. At

this crisis Isaiah came forward, and tried hard to
persuade the king (1-16) and the people (81-15)
that Pekah and Rezin were not formidable ; that
within a very few years they would be swept away
by Assyria ; and that, if Judah would only remain
quiet and trust in Yuhwch, she would suffer no harm ;
but if she refused Yahweh s help, imagining it to be
as feeble as the small, shallow waters of Shiloah, and
hired the help of Assyria, the latter would sweep over
the country with a torrent like that of the Euphrates ;
the policy of Ahaz would bo an apparent success
in averting the immediate Syro-Ephraimite danger,
but Judah would bo finally " shaved " clean by tho
very " razor " hired to help her (?2o). But Ahaz was
infatuated with his own plan, and would not listen.
Ho paid tribute (2 K. 167f.) quite unnecessarily, as
Isaiah had foreseen, since Assyria would have attacked
Pekah and Rezin in any case. In the next year (734)
Tiglath Pileser captured Gaza, in 733 the northern
districts of Israel, and in 732 Damascus. In 724
Hoshca revolted, and the northern kingdom fell ( 13).
" Henceforward, instead of a kindred people, Judah
had on its northern border, which lay but an easy
day s walk from Jerusalem, an Assyrian province and
a mixed population " (Gray).

During the years 734-711 Judah seems to have re
mained in submission to Assyria, giving no help either
to the northern kingdom at the time of its collapse,
or to Hamath when it revolted and was subdued in
720. Earlier, probably, than these two events Ahaz
died, and thus did not witness the evils that his policy
was destined to produce. In 720 Sargon also defeated
Gaza and an Egyptian force at Raphia, in the S. of
Philistia, but Judah was apparently untouched. But
in 711, when Hszekiali was on the Judaeaa throne, a
combined revolt was started which included Judah
(Is. 20 s ), Ashdod, Moab, and Edom, with help from
Egypt and Ethiopia. This was quelled by Sargoa s
" Tartan " or officer. But intrigue was in the air.
2 K. 2012-19 (Is. 39) describes an embassy sent to
Jerusalem by Merodach Baladan, which Hezekiah
favourably received, bringing upon himself a stern
warning from Isaiah. Merodach Baladan was a Chal
dean who had made himself master of Babylon. If
the Biblical narrative is historically trustworthy,
which some writers doubt, the embassy may have been
sent when he had been driven out of Babylon by
Sargori in 709.

In 705 Sargon was succeeded on the Assyrian throne
by Sennacherib. This was the signal for another
revolt by Judah and Philistia, fostered by an Ethiopian
dynasty in Egypt. In 701 the Assyrians came, as before,
along the coast road to Philistia, and Sennacherib
defeated Ashkelon and Ekron. The latter had de
posed their king, Padi, who must have favoured sub
mission to Assyria, and had sent him in chains to
Hezekiah. But, after winning a victory at Eltekeh,
the Assyrian troops overran Judah, and Padi was
restored. Their inscription states that they captured
forty-six fortified towns and many smaller ones, and
200,150 inhabitants ; and Jerusalem was blockaded,
Hezekiah being shut up " like a caged bird." But
tho city was not captured. Hezekiah submitted and
sent a large tribute~to Nineveh, whither Sennacherib
had, for some reason, retired before the end of tho
Judrcan campaign. With this account agrees tho
brief statement in 2 K. 1813-16 ( = Is. 36i). But some
other narratives are appended: (I) In 18i7-197
( = fe. 362-377) it is related that, after capturing the
Judae.s.n towns, Sennacherib sent from Lachish an
officer, the " Rabshakeh," to demand the surrender of

.>

T e
cut.

And

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

L.v:

e failed v- ??? it. Jehoiakim began to
CVV.:A : le -.cconipar.imer.ts of oppression and injustice

esrvcia ly ti.-e- creates: of then-. Jeremi ;:. Amid hatred

>*? sto-x: forth and declared, in season

:.: : =-;-.~:r.. that submission to Babylon would

a;one avert utter .ies-truc-ion. He collected his earlier

pror.-e :ies. and B.-ruch. his scribv?. read them to rb?

bepn to rce;d it to the king; but he cut it in
pieces anei tnrevr : into the rirx\ He sent to arrest

-iTuon write out the prophecies, adding

a prophet named Ur;ah. but he wa.s so
he rled to Er^-pt. T:ie kin-.
: ^.? put to death ^- --c/l.
- >e - : - :r. ar.r.ther o-ccasion from

r_ ; -

udcrtned to death. He delii>?rately
i: was rc-scuerl by Ahika-r .
M-.d some of the
.-..ied them that Micah h.vi similarly

the citv Mi. ii:;

took i .e suicidal step of revolting
[xi ! ites. and Ammon-
ylon. overran Judah.

he: de-truction.

he public *tocks until

- - - T f

was t-rtuiiate

v.iah

nd would kin e

. . -. help
and the Cha .deai

ueen-mother. the

in. ineluin- T^Xi

- K. 24::-:o. Jer. 13:5 : .).

.ah contrasted favour-

- r . f \ r -.er were a-

; - itter years

-as kindlv treXted.

- SUCOr^SOr ri Xebu-

md allowed him

-

Jehoa

-tw. . _- . . . ,j L^.C..:. iicu unci ? r

. . the throne br Xebuchac-
- " . If be- \:i r.-triT-r. TF.

-

If he- had
-Id have b^-n

ntinue 1
Bu

Jehoiakim.

~a.s a prophet nam-ed Hanaaiah.
. _ . - . i - . - . .

.";.->? to join- wv.h them in revjlr.
--- every rr-rvc- to prevent th ; >.

T - ---~ .ikuk

ms cry -

the d

poises ". - _

epoch-maki!

bi~torv -

would have been
IT. Jalarj and Babylon. X:

::eutair to B rle-n mstead -:-i -* Er.
"" - es. who he-Id freouent correspondence ^.rith Jeru-

T T_ 1 i -i* .

.

-:hin two years :ne exiles would
return. : (2S:-4)." Jeremiah had been

" rea! ke to add visi" ::e emphasis to his

^irni. :..ar: brt ke it in pieces, but Jeremiah

: of w/>- J. upon the neck of the
would b-e- eschanre-i for a yoke of iron. And
.:e predicted that Hananiah would die within twelve
ne-ntns. which came to pas? (2Sio 17). But the
fanatic ii belief that Yahweh would interpose for H;.-

of

.

salem. Jeremiah jives the sub-stance of a letter from

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

a certain .Sheruaiah to the priest? in the capital, a-sking
whv the prophet had not been put in the stocks for
big troublesome preaching. But Zephanial the priest
showed him the letter. Jeremiah himvelf wrote TO
the exiles imploring them to live in quiet submission,
and wamincr them against the - iterances of false
prophet? 29). But it was al! of no av&iL tzekiel,
a priest among the exiles, delivered the same message
as Jeremiah, but it fell on deaf ears. In orsS Judah
plunged into revolt. Zedekiah joined with Moab and
Amnioa in asking E-rrpt for he] p. In order to please
Yahweh and induce Him to ielp them, they made a
solemn covenant, releasing ail Hebrew slaves 3-t--ioj :
c/. the regulations in Lt. loizf. This wouk
dental v increase the number of those who would be
willing " to defend the city. Nebuchadrezzar at once;
came to Jerusalem at the beginning "- ^"- Bn ;
just as he l^esan the sie?e an Egyptian force appeared
under Pharaoh HopLra. and the Chaldeap for th=
moiaent retired to repulse them Jer. 37i:i. This
made the people think that they had
and havinL sained from Yahweh what they wanfri,
ther broke" their covenant and took back into slavery
the" Hebrews whom they had freed Sir: .

Jrremiah in the moment of re-rite ~z~ starting oul
to his home at Anathoth. when he
charged with attempting- to desert t: the enemy.
was put in prison, till the km;:, weak and vaculat.rg
in his fear both of the enemy and of hi" own noble-,
sent for him. But the prophet, a,^ before, persisted
that his only hope lay in submission. The noble?
then let him down into a noisome cistern. But a
black slave at the palace, on reporting it to the kin,:.
wa? allowed to release him. and_ Jeremiah was kept
safe in th:- court of the guard. He again advised the
kin? to submit to Babylon, bat he wa? too weak to
stand out against the popular fanaticism (37:.).
The siese lasted, with all the horrors of famine, fi
vear and a half, when the enemy forced an entrance.
Zedekiah trie-i to rlee. but was caurht ?.rA take
Riblah. Thence, with the mas-^ of the population.
he was carried to Babylon, ine Chaldean office:
Nebazaradan was left to collect the treasures of the
city and Temple, to throw down the walls, and to
destroy the buildings with fire, including the Temple
and palace 39:-o). " Hearing -t ha- Jeremiah had coun
selled submission. Nebuzaradan all owed him to choose
whether he would go to Babylon or remain at home,
and he chose the latter <4-0:-f ).

It must not be supposed that Judsa was depleted of
all its inhabitants. Many had ned to th? surrounding
countries before the siege. But the great majority con
sisted of the poorest of the peasantry. There is some
probability, however, that a number of priests, who
had been deprived of their country sanc r uaries by the
" Deuteronomie " reform, now came together and carried
on the worship of the community. The Chaldeans
appointed a Jud^an named Gedaliah. son of Ahikam.
a governor, who settled at Mizpah. and showed signs of
beii^ a very competent ruler, and was sensible enough
to advocate submission to Babylon (Jer. 4^1 --:-).
Ail misht have u-one well but for an act of treachery.
A Judsan. named Ishmael. was sent by the Ammonite
kine to a^sa-ssinate Gedaliah. The latter was warned
by Johanin. son of Kareah. but he was too generous
to b-:-lieve the report. He gave Ishmael hospitality
at Mizpah. and then Ishmael murdered him. and many
of the Juda?an? who were with him, and even the
Chaldean soldiers on guard in the town. Two days later
eight" men who had come from the north to otter
sacrifice were inveigled into the town and killed in

T-h . : . 5/r? ther carried off tre remainder
Mi>i:,ih. ar. 1 started to take *h--m to

pursued him w;-h a land of soldier-, -o that he left
hi? car.ti-.-e-s and fled. J-. han<n now determined, in
order to escape the wrath of the Babylonian.?, to take
to E^vr^t hose whom he r ad rescued. Tr.ey inquired
of Jeremiah whether it wa.-? Yahweh s will. He im
plied, a-s strini-h- as he could, that it was not. But

and carried of! loth him and Banch to E;-vr.-t. and
settled at Tahpanhe? 4lr:-43r. Fnere, m sp:te of
his continued r.. reach in;:, the lar.<s-ed into idolatrr,
d &r -lariri- r hi-t i"t was their woYshif. of Yahweh which
ha -I led to tre destruction of Jerusalem, wnicn He had
been <-nable to defend. Jeremiah replied th a: Yahweh
would deliver the Eirrr.tian? into the Lands of tne
Babylonians <44;.

IS. Religious History cf Israel and Judah.
course of Israel s r*-l: ~ious thought forr.-s the subject-
of a sT-ecial article r>rj. * 1-0-7). but the event? re-

that David carried the Ark up to Mt. Zlon. Jer.sa.em
l^came the chief centre of the worsnip c: Yanwen,

mind, indeed, was for the- most r. art un-. lie to dis
tinguish between the worship of Yahweh. whom they
called Bail Lord,-, and that of the ". ar.ianite Baalim.
The r-eliriou? imr-vrance of Jerusalem was greatly
enhanced bv the erec-*i:n ". : ^-t-lomon ? Temple, It
became the royal s.ancttia~. served by a succession
of rriests vrho rapi iiv advanced in wealth and im
portance. Jeroboam I realised that this might be
come a bond of union l-vtwee- the northern and the
southern tribes, and this he T.roceeded to rrevent by
?ett:r.2 ur. golden lulls at Bethel v ani L>?.n . as re-
k r eri in ? ^. But though the religion cf Yah v, eh was
officially Wognise-i ly royal authority, the Canaan. te
cults continued in loth kingdom- side by ride with it.
Asa made an attempt to put s stop to s-;me of its_worst
f-a*u^^-= in Judah IT remorinr manv of the J:*dt,*kim
flV. " seldom i t es "). persons dedicated to immorality
in connexion with the cult of the Baalim, and destroy
ing many of the Caraanite images, including " an
alomina -le image for Asherah " er^te-i by the queen-
mother Maacah. whom ne deposed fro-m her official
position. And Jekos naphat c-c-ntinue-i his efrorte,
removing J:f.d?Mm. who still remaine.i in the country.
But in the days of Ahab the worshippers of Yahweh
in the northern kingdom were faced by a new perJ.
Ahab married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaai, kins
of Zidon. She was a woman of a dominating force of
character, which resulted in the official establishment
of the Tyrian Baal-worship as the royal cult. Her
r.riest-7-roT hets usurped the northern sanctuaries, and
she started a violent persecution against the prophets
of Yahweh. many of whom, however, were secretly
assisted by Obadiah. one of Ahab s chief officers.
The crisis called forth two champi:ns. Elijah and
Jehu, who stood out as defenders of Yahweh-worshir.
The narratives related of the former are contained
in a co lection r-f stories hande-d down in prophetic
circles (1 K. 17-19. 21:--r> : 2 K. if.}. They are cf
great literary beauty and dramatic interest, and show
a massiveness of conception which rerle>:-ts the im-
pres^ion which must hsve l-e>-:n exercised on his con
temporaries bv Yal.weh s pwtagc^iist. The prc-phet
ar>T>eaied suddenly before Ahab. and rebuked him for
his" Baa!-wor-:hip : and then, in the splendid soene on
Mt. Carmtl, he" manr.gM to bring over the populace

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

fco his side, so that they slaughtered many of the Baal
priest-prophets. For this Jezebel sought his life, and
he fled. In a fit of despondency he imagined that he
was alone in his loyalty to Yahweh, but there was,
in reality, a large number of true worshippers left.
Nevertheless much remained to be done. The mis
chief had spread into Judah, the southern king, Je
horam, having married Athaliah, the daughter of
Ahab and Jezebel, a woman whose personal force was
hardly less than her mother s. As queen-mother
when Jehoram died, she doubtless exercised a strong
influence over his successor, Ahaziah. And now the
second chief champion appeared. When Eiisha had
succeeded Elijah as head of the prophetic bands, he
incited Jehu to usurp the crown from the northern
king, Jehoram ( 12). Jehu wont far to stamp out
the Tynan worship by a series of massacres. He first
killed Jehoram of Israel with his own hands, and also
pursued Ahaziah of Judah and caused him to be put
to death (2 K. 816-28). He then entered Jozreel,
where Jezebel, at his orders, was thrown by her
servants from the window of the palace (30-37).
In terror of his savagery the elders of Samaria killed
Ahab s seventy sons at his bidding, and sent to him
their heads in baskets (lOi-io). He also caught and
massacred forty-two kinsmen of Ahaziah, and all the
remaining members of the " house of Ahab in Jezreei,
and all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his
priests" (1011-14). He next drove to Samaria, in
company with Jehonadab, a member of the clan of
Rechab, who were always the sternest supporters of
the ancient worship of Yahweh. There " he smote all
that remained unto Ahab in Samaria " (15-17). Having
thus nearly wiped out both the royal houses, he sum
moned all the priests and worshippers of Baal as
though for a sacrifice to their god , and ruthlessly
massacred them all in their temple (18-28). This
furious revolution, though it attained its immediate
object in the northern kingdom, was condemned a little
later by Hosea (14).

With all his zeal, however, Jehu did not succeed in
killing Athaliah. For six years longer she carried on
the Baal-worship in Jerusalem, though she was evi
dently unpopular. She began by putting to death
every male member of the family who could dispute
tne crown with her, except Ahaziah s infant son
Joash, who was rescued by his father s sister, Jehosheba,
wife of the priest Jehoiada. She hid him and his
nurse in a lumber-room, and kept him secretly for six
years. When the boy was seven years old Jehoiada
determined to put him on the throne, and to make an
attempt to restore the true religion. The army swore
allegiance, and on a Sabbath the child was crowned
in the Temple court, Athaliah dramatically came in,
and cried, " Treason, treason ! " She was executed
when she had left the precincts (2 K. Ili-i6) As
Joash was so young, Jehoiada acted as regent and at
once set about the longed-for reform. The temple of
Baal, and its altars and images, were destroyed and
its priest put to death (i 7 f.). But the repair of
Yahweh s neglected Temple waa not so quickly accom
plished. Jehoiada allotted certain moneys to the
pnests, out of which they were themselves to defray
all the expenses of the repairs. But they simplV
appropriated it and did nothing ; and until the king
was old enough to support him with authority Jehoiad-
seems to have been unable to check the abuse But
when the king took the matter up, money was col
lected in a chest at the entrance to the Temple, which
the priests could not handle; and thus the repairs
were at last accomplished (124-15).

The Tyrian Baal-worship was now no longer offi
cially countenanced in either kingdom. But the
country was still permeated as before by the common
Baalim cults. At the end of the prosperous reign of
Jeroboam II, Hosea draws a lamentable picture of
the social and religious condition of Israel, addressing
his nation as Yahweh s unfaithful wife who " hired
lovers " i.e. worshipped the Canaanite gods instead
of Yahweh, and at the same time hankered alternately
for the help of Assyria and Egypt instead of trusting
in the protection of her Husband. Contemporary
with Jeroboam II was Uzziah of Judah, with his
regent son Jotham. Under their rule Judah was no
less prosperous than Israel; the same condition of
things prevailed, and Isaiah similarly denounced tho
social rottenness and the deep-seated tendency to
idolatry which ho saw around him. Under Ahaz
things grew worse. He made a deliberate attempt to
establish pagan worship with royal authority. To the
ordinary Canaanite practices ho added the revolting
horrors of Molech rites, setting an example of child
sacrifice by burning his own son in the fire. When ho
went to meet Tiglath-Pileser at Damascus in order to
pay his tribute ( 16), he was attracted by an altar
used by tho Aramaeans, and caused a copy of it to bo
mado for tho Temple at Jerusalem, substituting it
for the sacred bronze altar for the purpose of sacrifice.
The latter he removed to one side of the court, and
used it for divination. Hezekiah, doubtless owing to
Isaiah s influence, made a serious effort to restore a
purer worship. Besides the Canaanite high places and
images which he removed, there was, strangely enough,
a bronze serpent which had been an object of worship
in Jerusalem for so long that its origin was forgotten,
and tradition ascribed it to Moses. On its name
Nehushtan, see 2 K. 18 4 *. This image the king broke
in pieces. The reform, however, was short-lived, and
paganism returned in full force under Manasseh, who
made a thoroughgoing attempt to restore foreign
cults. Not only Canaanite altars were set up, but
also altars to the sun, moon, and stars, a practice
learnt from the Far East; and the terrible Molech
sacrifices were revived. Not content with this, tho
king tried to force the people of Jerusalem by perse
cution to apostatize from Yahweh, and the streets of
the city ran with blood. And his deadly work was
continued during the short reign of his son, Amon.
But the darkest hour is that which precedes the dawn.
The blood of the martyrs was the seed of a reforming
community. The religious teaching of Isaiah must
have had lasting effects; through his group of dis
ciples (Is. 816) the desire for purity of worship and
lehef must have spread. And Hezekiah s reforming
acts shew that the leaven was at work. Manasseh s
reign of terror only intensified the longings for a
thorough purging of Israel s life from primitive, un
worthy conceptions of Yahweh, and from the age-
,ong stain of Canaanite idolatry. In the course of
us reign, or possibly in the early years of the boy king
Josiah, some one whose name is unknown, fired with
a lofty devotion to Yahweh and to Judah, wrote a
book calling upon the nation with prophetic power to
throw of! paganism. He may have been prevented
by martyrdom from publishing it, or he may nave
waited for better times, knowing that if the king heard
of the book he would destroy it at once. At any rate
it remained hidden in the desecrated Temple. Mean
time the small circle of religious people was fired to
fresh enthusiasm by the preaching of Jeremiah. At
last, in the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah took
public action. As in the reign of Joash, after the

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

75

pagan domination of Athaliah, the first necessary
step was the repair of the Temple. Shaphan, the
king s secretary, and Hilkiah, the principal priest,
were witli the king heart and soul, and they paid the
money which had been collected to carpenters, builders,
and masons. The work was in progress, and Hilkiah
no doubt was constantly on the spot, arranging details
with joyful interest. One day he lighted upon the
book hidden there, and showed it to Shaphan, who,
after reading it, told the king about it, and read it
to him. On hearing it Josiah rent his clothes, and
sent in great anxiety to make inquiries about it.
Huldah, a prophetess living in the city, was consulted.
Her answer was that the city would be visited with
the punishments mentioned in the newly-found book,
because of its idolatry and sin, but that Josiah would
go to his grave in peace. (The latter part of the pre
diction was only partially fulfilled. Josiah did not
live to see the destruction of the city, but he died in
battle with Pharaoh Necho.) The discovery of the
book brought to a head the longings for religious
reform. Josiah at once led the way in a wholesale
destruction of objects connected with pagan worship ;
and with these were included many of the sanctuaries
in which Yahweh had been worshipped in what was
then understood to be an unworthy and primitive
manner, the rites being scarcely distinguishable in
the popular mind from those of the Canaanites. He
began with Judah and Jerusalem, and " brought all
the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the
high places where the priests had burned incense,
from Geba to Beersheba." But the narrator goes on
to record that he penetrated into the N., taking
advantage of the weakness of Assyria to assert his
supremacy there (2 K. 2815-20). Some writers, how
ever, doubt the historicity of this passage. Whether
the N. was included or not, it is clear that the purging
of Judah was carried out very thoroughly. It is a
generally accepted opinion that the book which
Hilkiah discovered was the Book of Deuteronomy, or
a portion of it containing laws. All the leaders in
the reform, which is now generally described as the
Deuteronomic reform, were imbued with the spirit of
the book, so that there grew up what may be called
a Deuteronomic school of thinkers and writers. Jere
miah was the most conspicuous, but the work of others
is seen in the Deuteronomic redactions of earlier
writings. The opinion of a few scholars, however,
should be mentioned, that the discovered book was
only a short prophetic warning which has been lost
to us, which roused reforming enthusiasm, and that
early in the period of the Exile the principles of the
reform found expression in Deuteronomy, the thoughts
and language being coloured by those of Jeremiah.
The outward effects of the reform were great, because
it was carried on under the aegis of the king, especially
the centralisation of all worship in the Temple by the
destruction of the country sanctuaries. But the
Deuteronomic ideals were, after all. shared by only a
small circle. When Josiah died at Megiddo, the loyal
spirits lost their principal support ; and when the
Chaldeans carried off Jehoiachiri and the best elements
in Judah, some of the populace left behind thought
that Yahweh had forsaken His city, and many of
them secretly returned to pagan practices (Ezek. 85-18).
On the other hand, the supremacy of the Temple,
effected by the reform, led many to the fanatical
belief that, since Yahweh dwelt in Jerusalem in the
Temple, it was inconceivable that He could deliver
up His people to the enemy. Thus acquiescence in
the externals of the reform was compatible with a

total lack of true religion, and was largely the cause
of the violent opposition from which Jeremiah suffered.
Tiie lapse into idolatry of those who carried him into
Egypt has been related in the foregoing section. But
the reform, nevertheless, was not the complete failure
that it seemed. Those who had drunk in its spirit
were mostly among the better classes who had been
taken to Babylon. And these formed the seed of the
Jewish Church that was to eome.

19. The Chronicler. From the death of Saul till
the Babylonian Exile the sources of our information
have been the Books of 2 8amud and Kings and the
writings of the prophets, together with a few eon-
temporary inscriptions of foreign nations. After the
Exile the religious teachers of the Jews, in their whole
hearted devotion to Yahweh, felt, that all the past
history of the nation was full of lessons for their own
day. And they drew out these lessons, not by a
series of homilies, but by rewriting the history in such
a way as to make the lessons shine more clearly out of
it. This was done to a certain extent by the Deutero
nomic compilers of the Books of Kings and of earlier
histories, but not with the same single-hearted con
sistency as the post-exilic writers. They read their own
religious convictions into the past, and thus often pro
duced not strict history, but what is known as midrash,
didactic and imaginative narrative based on history
(pp. 254f., 314, 319). Two such midrashim are men
tioned in 2 Ch. 1322, 2427 (RV "commentary"). With
this object in view it was natural that they should
idealize the portraits of the "good" kings, arid
emphasize the activity of the loyal prophets and priests
of Yahweh, and conversely paint in the darkest colours
all that fell short of their ideals. It is probable that
they possessed some traditions with a good historical
basis which were not made use of by the pre-exilic
historians, but they are very difficult to determine.

With this proviso the principal additions to the
history of the kings made by the Chronicler can now
be sketched. (See further the comm. on Chronicles.)

In 1 Ch. 1-8 a series of genealogies traces the rise
of the chosen people from Adam. Ch. 9 names the
principal families resident in Jerusalem after the
return from Exile. The death of Saul is related in
ch. 10, and the rest of the first book is occupied with
the reign of David, the ideal king. The bulk of it
consists of a description of the arrangements of the
Temple worship and the duties of priests and of their
assistants, the Levites. These arrangements are
really those which obtained in the post-exilic Temple,
and in that respect the writer provides us with valuable
information. (A " Levite," for example, in pre-exilic
days was not an assistant, inferior to a priest ; it was
a title of a priest.) But they are all ascribed ideally
to the devoted care and forethought of David, who,
though forbidden by Yahweh to build a temple be
cause he had " shed much blood upon the earth "
made full preparation for his son Solomon.

In 2 Ch., as in the first book, many comments are
added on the moral significance of events, which need
not be enumerated here except when they involve
additional narrative material. The account of the
reign of Solomon presents no serious additions. After
the disruption of the kingdom the Chronicler confines
himself to the history of Judah, mentioning the
northern kingdom only where unavoidably necessary.
The disruption itself was, in his eyes, a grievous sin
against Yahweh, and all the northern kings wore
wicked usurpers who destroyed the unity of the sacred
people. Rehoboam strengthened himself against
Israel by fortifying several towns round Jerusalem

76

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

(115-12), placing them in charge of his twenty-eight
sons (21-23). The appointment by Jeroboam of
non-Levitical priests throughout his kingdom, to the
exclusion of the true priests, made the latter, with
the Levites, flock to Judah (13-16). Jeroboam is
further charged with erecting images not only of bulls,
but also of satyrs, which is forbidden in the priestly
law in Lev. 177. When Shishak raided Judah, the
prophet Shemaiah declared that it was because of
the sins of the nation. And when king and princes
humbled themselves, Yahweh told the prophet that
He would not allow Shishak to destroy them and their
city (122-8). To Abijall is ascribed a victory over
Jeroboam. Before the battle ho delivered a speech
to the enemy. Jeroboam surrounded the army of
Judah, but when they cried to Yahweh, and tho
priests blew with tho trumpets, Israel was routed in
panic (13). In the reign of Asa, Zerah the Ethiopian
came to fight him at Mareshah ; but when Asa cried
to Yahweh He smote the enemy, and they fled, and
Judah won great spoil (149-15). Then a prophet,
Azariah, son of Oded, addressed them, and encouraged
them to maintain the pure worship of Yahweh. So
Asa removed the abominations from his kingdom, and
all Judah entered into a covenant to servo Yahweh
(15i-i5). But when Asa paid the Aramaeans to attack
Baasha, he was rebuked by a prophet, John, son of
Hanani, for not trusting in Yahweh. Asa put him
in prison, " and oppressed some of the people at tho
same time." And when he was diseased in his feet,
he sought not Yahweh but the physicians (1(57-12).
The successes of the reign of Jehoshaphat, hinted at
in 2 K., are enlarged upon. He set garrisons in tho
fenced cities. He removed the high places and aslierim,
and sent princes and Levites through Judah to teach,
" having the book of the law of Yahweh with them "
(171-g). Tho Philistines and Arabians became tribu
tary to him, and the army was organized (10-19).
When ho returned from helping Ahab at Ramoth-
gilead, Jehu, son of Hanani, rebuked him : " Shouldest
thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Yah
weh ? " (19i-3). Jehoshaphat converted the people to
the worship of Yahweh " from Beersheba to the hill
country of Ephraim," and he appointed judges
throughout the country, charging them to judge
righteously, and placed them under command of
Amariah the priest in religious, and Zebadiah in
civil, matters (4-11). A great triumph is recorded
over Ammon, Moab, and the inhabitants of Mt. Seir.
Jehoshaphat prayed to Yahweh, and Jahaziel, a Levite,
filled with the Spirit, declared that Yahweh would
fight and Judah should stand still and watch it. Two o!
the Levitical choirs sang praise to God, and when the
enemy went forth in the morning they sang again.
And the enemy turned and killed each other to a man,
so that Judah carried off great spoil. They blessed
Yahweh in the valley of Beracah (" Blessing "), and
returned to Jerusalem singing with joy (20i~3o).
But when Jehoshaphat allied "himself with Ahaziah
of Israel, he was rebuked by a prophet, Eliezcr, son
of Dodavahu, and as a punishment the fleet which
he had built was destroyed (35-37). The wicked
ness of Jehoram, who had married Athaliah, is dwelt
upon. On his accession he killed all his brothers and
several princes. For this, and for his idolatries, he
was rebuked in a letter from Elijah, who told him that
Judah would be smitten with a plague, and he would
die by grievous sickness. The Philistines and Arabians
broke into Jerusalem and carried off his treasures, and
the whole royal family except his youngest son,
Almziah (here called Jehoahaz) ; and he then died aa

Elijah had predicted (212-4,11-20). Joash, after the
death of the good priest Jehoiada, enticed by the
princes of Judah, relapsed into idolatry. He would
not listen to prophets who rebuked him ; and when
Zcchariah, son of Jehoiada, did so, he commanded
him to be stoned ; and Zechariah, when dying, cried,
" Yahweh look upon it and require it " (2417-22).
When Amaziah was about to fight the Edomites ho
hired 100,000 men from Israel, but at the advice of
a prophet dismissed them. Incensed at this, they
attacked and looted many cities on their way home
(205-10,13). After his victory over Edom he brought
back their idols and worshipped them. For this iie
was rebuked by a prophet, but he silenced him con
temptuously (14-16). The successes of Uzziah are
recorded in some detail. In the days of Zechariah,
a seer, he sought Yahweh and prospered. Philistines,
Arabians, and Ammonites were defeated. He fortified
Jerusalem, and encouraged husbandry by providing
towers and cisterns in uncultivated districts. He also
equipped the army with new armour and weapons,
including engines to shoot arrows and great stones.
But, proud of his successes, he dared to usurp a priestly
function in attempting to burn incense in the Temple.
Azariah the priest rebuked him ; and when he persisted
he was struck with leprosy, and fled from the sacred
building (26). Jotham continued his father s prosperity.
Ho built cities, towns, and castles, and subdued the
Ammonites (273-6). In the reign of Ahaz the attack
made upon Judah by Pekah of Israel and Rezin of
Aram is recorded as a punishment for unfaithfulness
to Yahweh. But when Pekah was carrying off many
captives, Oded, a prophet, rebuked him and bade him
send the captives back. Then " certain of the heads
of the children of Ephraim " insisted that this should
be done. So they clothed and fed them, and placing
" all the feeble of them upon asses," brought them back
as far as Jericho (81-15). The appeal which Ahaz
made to Assyria for help is stated to have been due
nob to the Syro-Ephraimite peril, but to a defeat by
the Edomites and the capture of several border towns
by the Philistines (16-19). The reforms set on foot
by Hezekiah are related at length, together with tho
activity of the devoted priests and Levites, the joyful
music, and the sacrifices offered when the Temple was
cleansed from the pollution of the idolatries of Ahaz
(203-36). All Judah, and even the faithful in Ephraim
and Manasseh and " all Israel," were then summoned
to Jerusalem, and the Passover was observed with
great joy, in the second month (as allowed by the
priestly law), because the priests had not sanctified
themselves in sufficient numbers, and the people had
not assembled in time, for the correct date in the first
month. Some from Israel had not sanctified themselves
at all ; but Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh to pardon this
irregularity (30). The courses of priests and Levites
were then appointed in accordance with the priestly
law, and vast quantities of tithes and offerings poured
in from the people (31). The strengthening of Jeru
salem in Anew of Sennacherib s attack is described
(32a-8). Manasseh is recorded to have- suffered
Divine punishment for his paganism. The Assyrians
carried him in chains to Babylon. But there he re
pented, and Yahweh " brought him again to Jeru
salem unto his kingdom." ( Whether the Chronicler
pictured Judah as governed by two kings, or whether
he supposed that Amon, or Josiali, temporarily abdi
cated in Manasseh s favour, is not clear.) Reinstated
on the throne, he fortified Jerusalem, and appointed
military captains in the fenced cities. He also tried
to atone for his former paganism by removing all the

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

77

o ujocts of idolatrous worship which ho had placed in
the capital (33ii-ig). In the account of the restora
tion of the Temple by Josiah it is stated that the
workmen were placed under the superintendence of
Lovites (34i2-is). The celebration of the Passover
mentioned in 2 K. is described in full priestly detail
(351-19). The account of Josiah s dealings with
Necho is expanded. Necho warned him from God
not to interfere with his advance, but Josiah would not
listen ; he disguised himself, but was wounded. The
dirges sung at his death were repeated till the writer s
day (20-25). The tragic history of the last four kings
of Judah is abridged (36i-2i), and the book closes
with the decree of Cyrus permitting the return of the
Jews from Babylon, which is repeated in Ezr. li-3

(382 2f.).

20. The Exile. Of the poorer classes who were
carried to Babylon we hear almost nothing. The
exiles were, in general, planted in colonies ; an instance
of this is seen at Tel-abib, by the river Chebar, near
Nippur, where Ezekiel worked (Ezck. li, 3is). They
were well treated, being allowed to possess houses
of their own (81, 12i-;, Jer. 295), to marry (Jer.
296, Ezck. 24x8), and to make money (see Is. 55if.,
Zech. 69-11). There are indications, however, that
some, probably the poor, suffered harsh treatment
(Is. 143, 476). A pathetic longing for Zion is expressed
in Ps. 137, and a feeling of -despair in Ezek. 37n ;
but such anguish was probably confined, for the most
part, to the few religious patriots who seized the first
opportunity to return. Among the exiles were in
cluded the Temple priests, who had become part of
the highest aristocracy of Judah by generations of
wealth and prestige. Some of them now busied them
selves with collecting and codifying, and perhaps
shaping for future use, the ritual laws which must
have prevailed in the worship at the Temple before
its fall, but had been handed down orally and not
committed to writing. Some of these appear in the
Holiness Code (Lev." 17-26). And Ezekiel, perhaps
somewhat earlier, laid down in the form of a vision
an ideal programme of worship and organization for
the community when it should return to Jerusalem
(Ezek. 40-48). At the same time many minds were
imbibing ideas from Babylonian astrology and mytho
logy, which afterwards showed traces widely in Jewish
literature.

Some thirty years passed, in which Nebuchadrezzar
died and was succeeded by some weak rulers, none of
whom reigned long. Two of them find mention in
the OT Amil-Marduk (Evil-Merodach, 2 K. 2527)
and Neriglissar (Nergal-sharezer, Jer. 893,13). In
555 Nabunaid (Gk. Nabonidos) ascended the throne.
Early in his reign he was harassed by the Modes. But
the danger was averted, for Cyrus, king of Anshan,
who had already made himself master of Elam, de
feated Astyagcs, to whom the Medes were at that time
subject. He and his troops w r ere betrayed to Cyrus,
whose banner the Modes joined. At about this time
appeared amoiig the exiles the unnamed poet-prophet
whose message is contained in Is. 40-48. He declared
that Cyrus was Yahweh s chosen instrument to deliver
the exiles, and that the victories which he had already
won shewed that the predictions of deliverance from
Babylon uttered by earlier prophets were about to
be fulfilled. In c. 546 Cyrus became master of Lydia
and its king, Croesus, by the fall of Sardis ; and at
last, in 539, he was free to attack Babylon, with which
Lydia had been in alliance. Bel-sar-usur (Belshazzar,
Dan 5 1*), the son of Nabunaid, was defeated; Sippar
opened its gates to Cyrus, and then Babylon was taken

without a blow, Nabunaid, who was hated by many of
his people, having been thrown into prison. Thus the
exiles passed from Babylonian into Medo-Persian hands.
21. Judsean History in the Persian Period. The
OT records now carry the reader back to Jerusalem.
The soTirces for the history are scanty and obscure,
but some valuable information is afforded in the Books
of Haggai and Zech. 1-8, and in portions of Ezra-Ne-
hemiah. The cylinder of Cyrus relating his achieve
ments (part of which is translated in EBi 453) shows
that in religious matters he adopted a pacific policy
towards the vanquished. But it gi^es no definite
support to the decree ascribed to him in Ezr. li~4,
allowing the return of the Jewish exiles and the re
building of the Temple (see below). It is probable
that a few, but only a few, of them responded to the
call in Is. 4820 to flee from Babylon, and throw in
their lot with those who had been left in Judaea, whoso
numbers must by then have been considerably in
creased. They managed to make themselves com
fortable in " panelled houses " before they shewed any
zeal in rebuilding the Temple and reviving the sacri
ficial worship of Yahweh. This called forth ringing
rebukes from the prophet Haggai, who, aided by an
other prophet, Zechariah, roused them to their duty.
A famine and drought were troubling them, which,
Haggai declared, were a punishment for their slack
ness. The slackness may have been partly due to
political unrest. When the successor of Cyrus, the
cruel and despotic Cambyses, died, the government
was thrown into confusion by Gaumata, who claimed
to be Smerdis, the brother of Cambyses, and also by
other pretenders ; and Judeea, being a Persian pro
vince, may have suffered. But order was at last
restored by Darius, son of Hystaspes, when he took
the throne in 522-1. And in his second year the
building of the Temple was begun, some three weeks
after Haggai a appeal (Hag. 11,15), and, according to
Ezr. 615, brought to some degree of completion in four
years. (On this and the following paragraphs see
pp. 323L, 5731.)

The Chronicler (whose compilation comprises 1 and
2 Ch., Ezr., Neh.) gives a narrative of events before
the appearance of Haggai ; but this, like his accounts
of pre-exilic events, "must be treated for historical
purposes with reserve. The decree of Cyrus, permit
ting the return and the building of the Temple (Ezr.
li-4), is couched in the language of a sincerely mono
theistic worshipper of Yahweh, which he certainly was
not. Sheshbazzar, " the prince of Judah," accompanied
by returning exiles, brought back the vessels which
had been taken from the Temple (5-1 1). But then
Shcshbazzar disappears from the narrative, and
Zerubbabel is named as the leader of more than
49,500 returning exiles (2), and as the civil governor,
aided by Joshua (Joshua), the high priest. Under
their authority an altar for burnt-offering was at once
erected, and the Festival of Booths was celebrated
(3i-s). Contrast, however, the statement in Neh.
813-18. Then, with timber brought from Lebanon,
and shipped by Tyrians to Joppa, a beginning was
made of the new Temple (37-13). But no sooner was
the foundation laid with great rejoicing than the
aliens, the descendants of those whom Esarhaddon
had transported to Samaria, asked leave to take part
in the building, which was refused. They retaliated
by hindering the work how is not stated till the
second year of Darius (41-5,24). All this is of very
doubtful historicity, as also the account (in 63-614)
of the events following the successful preaching of
Haggai and Zechariah i.e. the opposition of Tattenai,

78

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

the Persian governor of Syria, and others, their appeal
to Darius by letter, the search in the archives by
which Darius learnt of the previous decree of Cyrus,
and his consequent reply that every possible assistance
was to be given to the Jews, not only in building
facilities, but even in material for sacrifice. Some
modern writers go so far as to doubt whether there
was any return from Babylon at all, and think that
Haggai and Zcchariah preached simply to the remnant
(seeTlag. 112,14, 22, and cf. Neh. 1.3) whom Nebu
chadrezzar had left behind. But it is more probable
that, though there was no imposing return such as
Ezr. 2 relates, yet that some of the exiles who wore
oppressed and heartbroken in Babylon came back from
time to time and in small groups, a poor and pions
company, and with them a good many of the priests.
At least one contribution was sent and there may
have been several from Babylon by the hand of the
Jews (Zech. 610 f.); and communication was kept up,
and was probably frequent, between the exiles and
Jerusalem (Neh. 12).

The high hopes which the prophets had rested upon
the governorship of Zerubbabel and the ecclesiastical
rule of Joshua (Hag. 223, Zech. 3f. 612!) were dis
appointed. The period following the dedication of
the Temple in 516-515 was one of decline, as shown
in the writing called " Malachi." The country was
harassed by Edomito raids (Mai. 12-5) ; the priests
were corrupt, and the people consequently shewed a
rebellious distaste for religious observances and re
quirements, and even foreign cults were beginning to
appear (Ie-2i7). No more is heard of Zerubbabe! ;
it is unlikely, therefore, that his rule was brilliant
or noteworthy. He was succeeded by governors who
made themselves burdensome to the people (Neh.
615), and who were probably not Jewish but Persian.
Apart from such indications thn period of the history
is a blank.

The scene opens again with events in the reign of
Artaxerxes. Ezr. 47-23 contains an Aramaic frag
ment of narrative, inserted too early by the compiler,
showing that an attempt was made to rebuild the
city walls. An appeal was lodged at the Persian
court by several persons, including some of the aliens
in the Samaritan territory, in reply to which Artaxerxes
forbade the building of the walls, which was accord
ingly stopped " by force and power." Who took the
lead in this attempt to build is not stated. It may have
been a report of these occurrences which reached
Nehemiah (Neh. 13), but this is only conjecture. It
is not even certain whether the Artaxerxes named in
Ezr. 4 is the same as that in Neh. 2i. This, however,
is probable, and also that it is Artaxerxes I Longi-
manus (465-424), not, as some recent writers have
suggested, Artaxerxes II Mnemon (4 :> 4-3fil).

Before the arrival of Nehemiah a narrative dealing
with Ezra s work is contained in Ezr. 7-10. Opinions
still differ so widely about him that it is unsafe to
speak with confidence. Some place his work after
Nehemiah s sojourn in Jerusalem ; others deny the
historicity of the whole account of him, holding that
he is an imaginary figure by which the Chronicler
represented in midrash the aims and spirit of the
Judaism of that age. It is more probable, however,
that Ezra was a real person, a priest who returned
from Babylon and had considerable influence in press
ing the claims of the priestly law. On this basis the
compiler has built his narrative, as follows : Ezra, a
priest and scribe, was invested by Artaxerxes with
an authority, W. of the Euphrates, which is repre
sented as almost supreme, and loaded with gifts, that

he might establish in Jerusalem according to the Lav?
the worship of his God, whom the king s decree style i
" God of Israel," " God of Jerusalem," and " God of
heaven (7i-26). At this point occurs a passage
(727~9i5) written in the iirst person, as though drawn
from a diary or other document written by Ezra him
self. It describes his arrangements for the journey
across the desert, with a large number of exiles, in
cluding Levites and Nethinim for the Temple service.
They started from the river of Ahava, and, in spite of
carrying rich treasure and having declined a military
escort, were kept safe by God from enemies and
marauders. On arrival, they paid the treasures into
the Temple funds (727-836). But Ezra now learnt
from some of the Jewish princes that a large number
of Jews had married foreign women. He was thrown
into the depths of sorrow and shame, and at the evening
oblation he made a solemn confession to God in the
name of the people (9). The sequel is then described
by the compiler. A general assembly was called,
which met in an open square in a downpour of rain,
and it was agreed to appoint princes to investigate the
cases of foreign marriage. The narrative, whatever
was the part played by Ezra, reflects the nationalist,
partieularist attitude of the religious sections of tho
community.

And this zeal for the priestly law is shown in another
narrative about Ezra, placed by the compiler in Neh. 8
i.e. when Nehemiah was in Jerusalem. At tho
request of the people Ezra read to them the lav/,
standing on a wooden platform, and they were deeply
impressed with what they heard. Finding that the
law enjoined the observance of the Festival of Booths
in that very month, they celebrated it with great joy.
It is idle to conjecture why and whither Ezra retired,
if he did retire, from public life between the foregoing
incident and this. The literary condition of the
books Ezr.-Neh. forbids any chronological arrange
ment of Ezra s activity. He is introduced yet once
again (Neh. 1^36) as leading one of the two companies
which walked in procession on tho city wall at ita
dedication.

Somewhat more confidence can be placed in the story
of Nehemiah. Parts of it (1-75, 1^27-43, 184-31) are
written in the first person, and have the appearance,
for the most part, of coming from his own hand.

Nehemiah, a Jew, and cupbearer of Artaxerxes,
heard at Shushan (Dan. 82*) of the ruined condition of
the walls of Jerusalem, and in his grief he uttered an
earnest prayer to Yahweh (1). He obtained leave to
go to Jerusalem to restore the walls (2i-8). At a later
point he mentions incidentally that he was given the
status of governor of Judah (5i4). On his arrival he
inspected the walls by night, and then persuaded tho
Jews to begin the work, in spite of the opposition of
Sariballat the Horonite, Tobiah " the slave " the
Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian (2g-2o), who were
probably members of the mixed " Samaritan " com
munity in the N., who had previously been refused
participation in the building of the Temple (according
to Ezr. 4i-s), and had already successfully hindered
the building of the city walls (Ezr. 47-23). These
enemies exhausted every effort to hinder the work.
After mockery, which hurt no one (Neh. 4i-6), they
gathered an army for attack ; but Nehemiah, hearing
of it, provided all the builders with Aveapons. Half
stood ready to fight, while the other half worked
rapidly (47-23). Force having failed, the enemy
turned to fraud. Four times they invited Nehemiah
to a conference, hoping to kill him. On the fifth occa
sion Sanballat suggested that the building of the wall

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

79

would be interpreted by the Persian king as an attempt
at rebellion, in order to make Nehemiah king. But
Nehemiah saw through the plot, and boldly refused
to have anything to do with them. Yet another
attempt by a certain Shemaiah, who invited Nehemiah
to hide in" the Temple, since assassins were intending
to attack him, also failed (61-1/1). The walls were
completed in fifty-two days, to the disappointment of
the enemy, who had many allies in Jerusalem (15-19).
The joyful ceremony at the dedication is described in
1227-43, and arrangements were made for the safe
custody of the gates (7 1-3).

After this preliminary work Nehemiah took the lead
in shaping the religious life and constitution of the
community. He found that many of the wealthy
Jews had "taken poor Jews into slavery for debt. He
persuaded them to release them, and declared that
during the twelve years of his governorship he had
taken care not to make his maintenance a burden on
the people, as former governors had done (5). During
these years public spirit had been so far moulded
that the people bound themselves by a solemn covenant,
sealed by their princes, Levites, and priests, with
Nehemiah s name at the head. After a general oath
to keep God s commandments they bound themselves
to contract no foreign marriages, to refuse traffic on
the Sabbath, to observe the sacred seventh year as
commanded in the Law, to pay the poll-tax of one-
third of a shekel for the Temple, and regular first-
fruits, firstlings, and tithes (938-1039).

Nehemiah returned to Artaxerxes when his period
of governorship had expired, and disloyal Jews at
once took advantage of his absence. The worst
offender was Eliashib the priest, who had entered
into collusion with Tobiah and given him a chamber
in the Temple court. And Eliashib s grandson
(named Manasseh, if we can partially Jol low a confused
notice in Josephus) had married Sanballat s daughter.
Nehemiah also found that the Levites had not been
paid their dues, and had consequently deserted the
Temple and gone into the country ; the Sabbath was
profaned by labour and traffic ; and Jews were again
marrying foreign women, and their children could not
speak the Jewish language correctly. Nehemiah, who
was evidently possessed of authority, dealt with these
abuses in a very stern and forcible mariner (13).
Subsequent history shows that the community for the
most part adopted this policy of exclusiveness. Union
with the Samaritans became increasingly impossible,
and at a later date (Josephus, Ant. XI. viii. 4, places it
as late as the time of Alexander) the establishment of
the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim made the schism
final.

Little is known of Judsean history in the last century
of the Persian Empire. But it must have been a
time of much suffering. In the long conflict with
Egypt, Persian armies must frequently have overrun
Juda?a, and Artaxerxes III Ochus fought fierce battles
in Syria itself. The Jews seem to have sided with
Egypt, since he is said to have transported some of
them (c. 351) to Hyrcania and Babylonia. His
notorious general, Bagoas, oppressed them with taxes,
and roused their fury by entering the Temple. He
killed Ochus, and placed" Darius III Codomannus on
the throne, a weak king who was easily overcome by
the great conqueror Alexander.

22. Jews in Egypt in the Persian Period. Jews had
found their way to Egypt from various causes at
different dates. Shishak no doubt took some prisoners
when he attacked Rehoboam, Hezekiah made alliances
with Egypt, and Judseans probably took refuge there

when the Assyrians overran the country. When Necho
took Jehoahaz captive, some nobles or other officials
must have been taken with him. And Egypt was
acain a convenient refuge at the time of the Chaldean
invasion. The letter of Pseudo-Aristeas definitely
stated that Jews were sent to Egypt to help Psam-
meticus, doubtless the second of that name (593-588),
in his campaign against the Ethiopians, and that many
came later with the Persians. Shortly after the fall
of Jerusalem (580) Jews were found already settled
at Migdol on the NE. border, at Noph (Memphis), and
in Pathros in Upper Egypt (Jer. 44i, 4614) ; and
Johanan, son of Kareah, carried off many, including
Jeremiah, to Tahpanhes (Daphnse) on the E. frontier.
Lastly, the Assuan papyri show that a military colony
of Jews, established at the fortress town of Yob
(Elephantine) in the H. of Egypt, had worshipped
Yahu (Yahwch) in a temple of their own " since the
time of the Egyptian kings." The temple had been
spared by Cainbyses when he conquered Egypt in
525, but was destroyed by Egyptian priests in 410,
during the temporary absence of the satrap, Arsham.
Jedoniah, the Jewish head of the colony, and " his
companions the priests," wrote to Bagoas, who was
then governor of Judsea, to Johanan the high priest
(cf. Nch. 1222; Josephus, Ant. XI. vii. 1) and the other
Jerusalem priests, and to Ostanes, brother of Anani,
and the nobles of the Jews. But they received no
answer. From that time they had mourned and fasted,
and could not offer peace-offerings, incense, or burnt-
offerings. In 407 they wrote again, imploring Bagoas
to authorise the rebuilding of the temple, saying that
they would all pray for him till it was accomplished,
and sending him money. They had also, they told
him, sent information to Delaiah and Shelemaiah, the
sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. This appeal
was successful. Bagoas and the sons of Sanballat
replied, authorising them to claim from Arsham the
rebuilding of the temple. The problem raised by
the existence of a temple of Yahweh later than the
Deuteronomic Law of the one sanctuary cannot here
be discussed (p. 232). But the papyri are of peculiar
interest as contemporary documents giving a fund
of information on the social and religious life of the
community.

23. Alexander and After. A brief catalogue of
events will indicate the way in which the Jews passed
into the wider world of Greece. Alexander, having
defeated the Persians in 333, took Tyre and Gaza and
advanced to Jerusalem. He treated the Jews well ;
Josephus relates a tradition that he even granted them
autonomy in Jerusalem and Babylonia. He included
Palestine in the province of Coele-Syria. After re
ceiving the submission of Egypt, he planted many
Samaritans in the Thebais and Jews in Alexandria.
On his death Egypt was governed by Ptolemy I Soter,
son of Lagos. In the campaigns by which he estab
lished his power he frequently occupied Palestine. On
one occasion he seized Jerusalem without a blow,
because the Jews refused to fight on the Sabbath.
But he won their allegiance, and migrations took place
to Egypt, where he assigned them a quarter in Alex
andria. His son, Ptolemy II Philadelphia, definitely
made Palestine part of his dominion, and treated the
Jews with great consideration. The legend of the
translation of the LXX is probably based on the fact
that a Greek translation of the Pentateuch for the
Jews in Egypt was actually made under his authority.
Ptolemy III Euergetes continued the same kindly
relations, but they began to suffer disturbances under
Ptolemy IV Philopator, who was obliged to assert hig

80

THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

hold on Palestine against Antiochus II (" the Great ").
Finally Ptolemy V Epiphanes lost it, his genera!,
Scopas, bein;, defeated. Antiochus III made conces
sions to the Jew.-, and they transferred their allegiance
to the Seleucid dynasty, which led to noteworthy
results under the next king, Anliochus Eplphanes, as
related in the article on "Jewish History from the
Maccabees to the Dem rue; ion of Jerusalem." (See
further on the subject of this paragraph, p. 62.)

From a merely political and material point of view
Israel wa3 so insignificant that its history would hardly
be worth study were it not that God chose the weji k
things of the world for a high destiny. The Israelites,
more than any other nations, were His instrument for
revealing to mankind Himself, His nature and pur
poses, " in many portions and many methods." Their
emergence from nomadic life, their growth and train
ing, their blessings and their punishments, and finally
their wide dispersion among the great nations, were
steps in a gradual advance towards the great con
summation when the earth should be " full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the seas."

Literature. A thorough study of the history cannot
be made without systematic work at the narratives
themselves, with the help of commentaries and dic
tionary artickr, ; and it must include a study of the
literature and the religion of Israel, together with the
contemporary material, within and without Palestine,
afforded by inscriptions, etc. The following histories
can be consulted, not as substitutes, but as helps :
Foakes Jackson, The Biblical History of the Hebrew* ;
Kent, A History of the- Hebrew People; Kent and
4 History of the Jewish People ; H. P. Smith,
Old Testament History ; Wade, Old Testament His
tory. See also Mahaily, Alexander s Empire, and The
Empire of the Ptolemies. Of German works, Ewald s
great History of Israel (Eng. tr. in eight vols.) is now
largely antiquated. The most comprehensive of those
written from a newer point of view is Stade s ; Kittel y
Geschichte ties Voltes Ismtl 2 is much more recent,
and represents a rather more conservative position
(Eng. tr. History of the Hebrews from the first ed.).
Smaller but important works by Wellhausen, CorniJl.
Guthe 3 , and Lehmann-Haupt may also be mentioned.

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

BY PHOF. W. G. JORDAN

Preliminary Statement. The aim of this article is
to give in mere outline the history of Hebrew religion
as a living movement, which reveals to us one of the
great threads of the Divine purpose, and prepares the
way for the Christian faith. The books and subjects
mentioned will be dealt with in the commentaries and
other discussions ; hence the main object of this sketch
will be to give, as far as the writer is able, a connected
view of the whole development. The problem is
historical in its character. Our concern is with the
life of a particular nation, and with the action of its
leaders at a given period of the world s history, and
not with abstract theological theories as conceived by
the scholasticism of later ages. At the basis of our
discussion there is a definite view of Israelite history
and of the literature which tells the story of that life,
and gives a record of the various stages of thought.
This view is both critical and conservative ; it has been
built up by generations of loving toil, given to tho
study of the documents ; it seeks to preserve all the real
history contained in the sacred books, and to interpret
sympathetically all the noble struggles and lofty
aspirations that these record. The present aim is not
directly apologetic ; the facts, so far as we can recover
them, must be allowed to speak for themselves. But
the writer may express his opinion that the true
apologetic of the OT is the frank recognition of an
actual development, a God-guided organic movement,
a revelation shining more and more unto the perfect
day. ]t is not necessary for a Christian teacher to
disclaim " mere naturalism," whatever that may mean.
The word " development " in this connexion suggests
to us a movement which is not fully explained by the
genius of a particular people or their surroundings,
by the work of any one teacher or generation of leaders ;
the final explanation lies in the purpose of the living
God, who uses all these persons and circumstances
as His instruments. Such development, being a
matter of real life, is exceedingly complex ; its roots
are in the distant past, its ramifications run in all
directions ; there are side currents as well as the main
stream ; higher and lower movements iive side by
side ; early types of thought reappear at later stages ;
alongside of the higher attainments of inspired thought
there are survivals of primitive conceptions. Wo
cannot hope in fact, we do not desire to reduce tho
rich complexity of life to an abstract simplicity.

" Periods," then, are artificial and not real divisions,
adopted for convenience in handling the subject.
Some historical events, as tho Coming into Palestine
or the Exile, some stages in the religion, as the rise
of the higher forms of preaching or the Deuteronomic
Reform, may make a deep impression, but the thread
of history is never absolutely broken ; the current of
life may seem to move more slowly at one time than
another, but it never comes to a full stop. In Syria
and Palestine to-day beliefs and customs may still

be found similar to those of the pre-Mosaic times,
while the OT message, in its manifold forms, has mado
for itself a place in the highest life of the world. Simi
larly, such labels as nomadic religion, agricultural
religion, pre-prophetic religion, prophetism, legalism,
need to be watched lest they become hard and mechani
cal. They remind us that the spirit of religion, tho
spirit that responds to God s call and expresses man s
hunger and aspiration, is influenced in its outward
forms by changing circumstances, economic conditions,
intellectual culture, but they must not be too sharply
separated, or treated as final explanations of the great
reality. In the most primitive observances there were
glimmerings of great truths expressed in symbolic
forms by men of prophetic vision, and in the days of
hardest legalisrn there was much personal piety and
tender devotion.

The Historical Setting. The Hebrew tribes came
into Palestine in the thirteenth century B.C. The first
period of two or three centuries, as reiiected in the
earliest parts of Jg., is one of restless struggle, partly
of conquest and partly of assimilation. The founda
tion of the kingdom under David and Solomon is of
great historical and religious importance. The dis
ruption, some seventy years later, shows its lack of
political strength and religious stability. The de
struction of the Northern Kingdom, in 722 B.C., turns
the main current of political and religious history into
the Davidic kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians had
now begun to play an important part in the life of tho
Hebrews, and from that time onward this remarkable
race has been in contact with the great powers of the
world. The Exile in Babylon at the beginning of the
sixth century destroyed, for the time being, the
political existence of the nation and prepared the way
for the birth of the Jewish Church. After the Exile,
under the Persian control, the small community was
left free to devote its energies to religious and ecclesi
astical questions. The Greek period, after Alexander s
victory, brings with it dangers to the political and
religious life of Judaism. When these reach their
height, in the fanatical persecutions of Antiochus
Epiphan.es, the Maccabean revolt shows that tho old
warlike spirit is not dead, and that the religion through
centuries of strife has attained an independent and
vigorous character. Out of external conflict and in
ternal division there arose the religious and political
parties as we find them in NT times.

Each of these periods had produced its memorials
or left its deposits, which have to some extent been
preserved in the varied literature that we call the OT,
and these are our chief sources for the study of Hebrew
religion. In early songs and stories, in short, simple
codes of laws, this life and religion finds its first ex
pression. Then come early attempts at regular
national chronicles. Tho first written sermons show
that there is real literary culture, if of a simple kind.

82

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

Later the laws are set in a more elaborate codification,
and history is written from a definite religious point
of view. Finally the whole is placed in the frame
work of the world s history, and a sacred book comes
irto existence which has nourished simple piety and
produced hard dogmas of religion and science. In
other articles the political history will be treated at
length and " the Bible as literature " discussed ; here
it is sufficient to say that no real history of the religion
could be written until literary criticism had solved
many problems, showing, e.g., that the Pentateuch
consists of documents that can now be related to widely
separated periods of the nation s life, and that the
sixty-six chapters of Isaiah represent many stages of
ethical prophecy and apocalyptic thought. Our dis
cussion must relate itself to this history and rest upon
this critical basis of modern scholarship.

Early Hebrew Religion. According to the view now
dominant, as to the age of the documents, we have
no contemporary narratives or sermons from the
earliest time ; but while even fragments of our sources
may reach back beyond 1000 B.C., there is no doubt
primitive material that has been modified and very
early beliefs and usages which have left traces in the
later laws and literature. We see now quite clearly
that there is no such thing as reaching back, either
by history or speculation, to the beginning of the world.
The Hebrews are comparatively a modern people ;
behind their history is that of ancient Arabia, Egypt,
and Babylonia, and farther back is the dim pre-historic
period. The Hebrews belong to the Semitic family.
It is not probable that Egypt exerted any direct or
powerful influence on their religion. Their early
affinities are closer to the Arab tribes, and Babylonian
influence affected them at various stages through the
relation of those great Oriental empires to Palestine.
Many religious beliefs and customs found among the
members of the Semitic group are common to other
races. The investigation of that subject belongs to
the sphere of comparative religion. Of " a primitive
monotheism," here or elsewhere, there can be no
proof. Monotheism in any real sense is the result
of a long, painful struggle ; it has come to the world
through what has been aptly called " the Divine
discipline of Israel." In this respect both Christianity
and Mohammedanism are dependent 011 the OT. To
us with our conception of one God, who rules the whole
world through the working of laws and the action of
forces whose qualities and effects have been studied and
catalogued by long centuries of toil, it requires a strong
effort of imagination, assisted by the observation of
many facts, to recreate the ancient view with its
appropriate atmosphere. Then religion pervaded the
whole of life ; supernatural beings were everywhere,
if we may use such a phrase of a time when no clear
lino was drawn between the natural and the super
natural. Gods that were real became symbols to a
later time, and statements that to us are mere flashes
of picturesque poetry referred originally to actual
manifestations of divinities in definite time and place.
In the early narratives the Hebrews have preserved
the good tradition that their forefathers were nomads,
and that at each place of temporary settlement they
found or set up an altar to their God (Gen. 128, 13i8,
28ig, 332o). The altar was set up where the presence
of the Divinity had been revealed in some enlightening
vision or gift of help (Ex. 2024, 1 S. 7i2). There was
a freedom and simplicity in this early stage which is
prophetic of the fuller freedom of a more highly
developed religion. The altar might be a rude natural
stone, and the priest might be the head of the family or

clan, officiating according to traditional usage, but not
hampered by an elaborate ritualistic etiquette. Re
ligion was the basis of family and clan life. The
festivals were the times of natural gladness the wed
ding, the weaning, the welcome of a visitor ; the fauts
were hours of sorrow that come to all, when pain or
death breaks in upon the common routine. The man
was the head of the family, the owner of wives, chil
dren, and slaves ; but even then religion had, no doubt,
a binding and softening influence. We need not regard
the Semites of 3000 years ago as " savages." because
their views of God and the world differed so widely
from the " scientific " conceptions of our own time.
They had great fundamental ideas which we must
retain in a higher form. Religion was everywhere :
the family grew out of it, society was based upon it.
Duties to ancestors, to the living tribes, and to pos
terity were recognised as the commands of the God,
the essence of religion. The unity of life and the all-
pervading presence of religion were in a sense realised,
but only within a restricted sphere. The God might
be limited to a particular clan or a special place. The
passage from one tribe or one territory to another
might involve a change of allegiance and ritual (1 S.
2619). The polytheistic background of the ancient
world must bo borne clearly in mind if wo are to under
stand primitive religion. For example, the original
meaning of such conceptions as " clean " and " un
clean " only thus becomes intelligible (pp. 202f .). These
words point to something religious and ritualistic, not
sanitary. The " clean " or " unclean " thing may have
a contagious influence and lead in many cases to isola
tion, and so there is something analogous to modern
medical ideas. Ablutions may lead to cleanness in our
sense, but that is incidental ; the real root idea is that
what belongs to the sphere of another god is " unclean."
The dead body at one time belonged to a different
divinity, and to touch it made a man unclean in rela
tion to his own God (Num. 02). The divisions of life,
the tribe, the trade, the caste, the custom were
all based upon and hedged about by religious rites.
In much of this routine national narrowness, social
pride, mechanical, magical religion wore present. The
same thing persists to-day, often in less lovely forms.
There is a certain poetry and beauty in the primitive
recognition of gods in the storm, in trees, and in living
fountains. That some great boulder could be the
home of a god, and that the anointing oil could be an
acceptable gift to the Divinity may, at first sight, seem
strange ; but God must bo recognised as in some place
and places before men can bo led to the faith that He
is one and His life is manifested everywhere. To the
simple travellers the oasis in a desert might well bo
a garden of God, and the great rock might become a
symbol and name of the Highest, but first He must
be believed to be really i.e. locally there. So in
many places gods or spirits were found, but their
relation to each other was vague and indistinct. Con
sequently the life and worship that results, while pos
sessing a certain amount of order, must also be compli
cated and confused ; for things that had their origin
in chance and caprice grew into customs, customs crossed
each other and became hard. While everything was
in some sense alive, special events and startling ap
pearances had even more a Divine character. Thus
the facts of life receive a religious interpretation, but
there is little orderly reason, because when once the
presence of a god is recognised, that is regarded as a
sufficient explanation. His action may be what we
call " arbitrary," but, of course, a god cannot be
expected to conform to a standard of reason and right

THE RELIGION OP ISRAEL

83

to which the noblest worshippers have not yet attained.
This makes it natural that fear should play a largo
part in religion, that gifts should bo made and sacri
fices offered to propitiate the god who was angry, or
to provide against an uncertain but possible outbreak
of his anger. In later times, when a nobler religious
life began to permeate these things, men discovered
a just and noble cause for such anger (2 S. 21). With
regard to the minor deities or subordinate spirits
charms might be used, or amulets worn, or various
means that we now call "superstitious" employed to
avert misfortune or to bring " good luck." When one
remembers the abundant testimony to this early
" spiritualism : from other Semitic sources, we wonder
that the OT deals so little directly with it ; but the
literal uro is the result of selection, and there are abun
dant evidences in narratives, allusions, and prohibi
tions. The prophetic movement grew up over against
this varied background of " natural " religion.

It is not likely that genuine totomism existed among
the Hebrews of historic times or their immediate
ancestors ; all wo can admit is that certain tribal
names and some of the food taboos may ultimately be
traced to reminiscences of such primitive religion.
Late superstitions may still retain in their mongrel
worships remnants of rites belonging to remote times
(Ezek. 89).

With regard to ancestor worship the case seems to
be stronger. The family and the tribe were in ancient
times rooted in religious beliefs and observances. In
such nations as China, remarkable during a great part
of their existence for intense conservatism, wo see the
influence of homage paid to the past in this form. In
tribal forms of life among the early Semites it seems
to have played a great part. The Hebrews were de
livered from abject slavery to the past by their changing
circumstances, their internal and external struggles,
their independence of spirit, and above all the influence
of prophetic men ; but there are tilings in their life
and literature which suggest that this form of religion
exercised a real influence. The intense desire for
offspring and the strong effort to perpetuate the family
name probably mean more than the natural instinct of
procreation ; they have behind them powerful traditions
and a high religious sanction (Gen. 8824). The " ghost "
of Samuel is referred to (1 S. 813) as Elohim (god).
The sacrificial clan feast (1 S. 2629) and the mourning
customs are interpreted by many in the same direction.
Ceremonies connected with such things linger on when
their origin has been wholly or partly forgotten ; but
the legislators and the preachers of a purer faith, in
their jealousy for the supremacy of Yahweh, felt a
repugnance to customs that belonged to a sphere
which in their day had become " heathenish " and
" superstitious." With them it was not a mere matter
of " archaeology " (Kautzsch, HDB) but of actual
religious life.

Circumcision (Gen. 17*, pp. 99f.) is a rite with a long
history. In later times it was performed when the male
child, at the end of the first week of its life, was dedicated
<o the God of Israel, and it became a distinctive mark
of Judaism ; but it was a primitive rite among many
nations, and not a discovery of Abraham or Moses or
a monopoly of the Israelites. The various traditions
in the OT as to its origin and intention represent dif
ferent points of view (Gen. 17 * ; Ex. 4a6 ; Jos. 53 *).
This mutilation, in the early days, was no doubt a
rite of initiation into full membership in the tribe,
when the young man was considered qualified to assume
the duties of husband and soldier. The strange story
in Ex. 4 may be meant to explain the transfer to

childhood of an act of blood-dedication which loft on
the per.son a permanent tribal mark. The original form
of the passover sacrifice (pp. I02f., 177f.), before it bo-
camo associated with the feast of unleavened bread and
received an historical interpretation, no doubt goes back
to the nomadic days. We cannot, in a brief review,
attempt to trace all these details or to discuss contro
verted points (see article, " The Religious Institutions
of Israel ), but wo need to bear in mind all the time
that we are dealing with the complicated story of
human life, and not with an abstract theology. Tho
Mosaic period is not a blank space upon which a new
revelation is written in a mechanical fashion ; the
Israelites do not come into an empty land free from
history and destitute of customs. The new must
relate itself to the old in the way of conflict or absorp
tion. Different types of thought and different modes
of worship meet and mingle, but the faith in Yahweh
shows its originality and strength by its power to live
and conquer. For example, suppose we ask the
question, " Was human sacrifice ever a part of Hebrew
religion ? " The answer will depend upon our point
of view. It certainly does not belong to the religion
of Yahweh, and never receives the sanction of any
prophet. Hebrew religion first modified and then
banished this ancient widespread and barbarous
custom. But we know from clear statements that
child-sacrifice was practised down to a late time by
superstitious or despairing Israelites (p. 09 Jer. 731).
Such polemics against this custom as we find in the
beautiful story or noble sermon show that it had a real
hold on the minds of many people (Gen. 22*, Mi. 61-8).
The case of Jephthah s daughter shows the possibility
of such a sacrifice among early Israelites from a quite
honourable motive ; the vow is to Yahweh, and He
chooses the sacrifice. But two things must be borne
in mind, viz. the probability that such occurrences
were much less frequent among the ancestors of tho
Hebrews, who led a stern, simple life, than among the
Canaanites, and that such desperate religious remedies
are apt to be used in times of great confusion and dis
tress. Alongside of the highest prophetic teaching
these tragic relapses may take place. Further, in
the thought of that time, when all public activity was
completely controlled by religious motives, people
saw " sacrifice " where we do not see it. The de
struction of Achan and his fainily (Jos. 7), Agag hewed
in pieces by Samuel " before Yahweh (IS. 1532),
and tho impaling of the seven sons of Saul " before
Yahweh " (2 S. 21g), may all be classed as judicial
procedure, exercised according to the tribal ideas of
that time, but to the ancients there is in them a sacri
ficial and propitiatory element. Ideas attached to
lower gods and demons were transferred to Yahweh,
and then the thoughts concerning His being and
character received a fuller purification and enlargement.
Tho higher stage does not completely displace the
lower ; but there is an increase in the complexity and
richness of life all round, with brilliant lights and deep,
dark shades. The same remarks may be made and
the same principles applied to the question of " idol
or " image worship." It took many centuries of
struggle before a man of the highest intelligence could
boldly declare that " an idol is nothing in the world "
(1 Cor. 84), and even then such a man stood far above
the popular view, and even he did not profess to dis
miss in an easy fashion " the powers of darkness "
(Eph. 612). Images were in use in the early days,
when men did not distinguish as we do between
symbol and reality (Gen. 3135, 25 4 , 1 S. 19a6). The
image or sacred thing had something of Divine power

84

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

or magic in it. Natural objects might be so regarded,
and manufactured articles in a later period. Against
the latter a religious conservatism might protest, as
in this region there is a peculiar sensitiveness towards
novelties and luxuries. The prohibition of " graven
images " may not at first have included all symbols
or objects of worship. The true religion docs not
come at first as an abstract creed, but works as a
Jiving principle from within, which only gradually
discloses its full meaning and rejects that which is out
of harmony with its essential nature.

The Mosaic Period With the modern view as to
the date and composite character of the Pentateuch,
we can no longer regard Abraham as the actual founder
of Hebrew religion, though, as we have suggested,
beliefs and customs of pro-historic times persisted,
among the people, down to a late date. The narratives
now grouped round the name of Moses belong to
different periods and represent varied points of view.
But the great body of OT scholars believe that the
real history of the nation and its religion begins with
the work of this great leader, who united several
tribes and led them to the East Jordan region. Jf
he was not the author of a complicated literature and
elaborate legislation, he no doubt, according to tho
usage of these days, united in himself some of the
simpler functions of priest and prophet as well as those
of military ruler and guide. If we are prepared to
treat the present tradition and the present text with
any respect, this at least we must accept. It does
not follow that he was conversant with Egyptian
speculations and the complete development of Baby
lonian civic law. The earliest code that we can trace
(Ex. 34i/ff.) is brief, simple, mainly ritualistic, and
already shows the influence of agricultural life. What,
then, can wo regard as the Mosaic contribution ? It is
not possible in this sketch to enter into elaborate dis
cussions as to the origin and meaning of the sacred name
" Yahweh " (Ex. 813-15*). In the OT there are different
views as to the time when this name and the worship
connected with it entered into the life of Israel and of
the world (Gen. 426, Ex. 815, 63). The Scripture
etymologies also, while revealing the thought of the
day in which they arose, cannot be regarded as scien
tific or ultimate. The exact origin and original mean
ing of such words (e.g. the English " God ") are lost
in the obscurity of the remote past. Neither can we
face the question of the relations of the early Hebrews
to the Kenites, and their mutual influence in the
region of politics and religion. Such relationship no
doubt exerted an influence not only during the sojourn
at the sanctuary at Kadesh, but also at a later time
(Ex. 18; Jg. Ii6, 4u, 17-22, 1 Ch. 2 55 ). Moses had
gathered a number of tribes together, and was prepar
ing them to press into the West Jordan region to find
a permanent home. They had their separate family
affiliations and their different clan customs. But
success in their present undertaking demanded a
large measure of unity and co-operation and this could
be created only by a powerful religious impulse. This
impulse was given by belief in Yahweh as the God
common to all the tribes, and faith in the power of His
name as redeemer and leader. In God s good providence
Moses was the man chosen as the instrument to kindle
this faith and to give the highest expression that it
could receive at that time. For, while we can now
talk freely about eternal principles and the " timeless-
ness " of Scripture, we cannot study the origin and
growth of a great religion without seeing that every
great truth has had to come in lowly, concrete form,
limited and conditioned by the circumstances of a

particular time and place. This, then, is the birth-
hour of the Hebrew nation and religion, an event of
immense importance for the religious life of the world.
Though the idea of " a covenant " between Yahweh
and Israel has been expanded and presented from dif
ferent points of view by later prophetic and literary
activity, it is no doubt here in a simple form and has
a real ethical character. Yahweh had chosen His
people, and would give them support against their
foes and provide a home for them. Here, though the
situation is a narrow national one, it is at a higher
plane than any mere " nature " worship or absolutely
local deity. The God who goes forth to war with and
for His people, whose presence is manifested in the
storm or in great volcanic shocks, is a mighty God
who is likely to be a conqueror in many senses. All
the battles of Israel were fought in the spirit of a high
religious faith, and even in early times it was felt that
defeat might be due not to the weakness of their
God, but to failure on the part of His servants to keep
His laws. True, these laws might be regarded aa
largely a matter of ritual, for, as we shall see, the
contribution of the great prophets did add something
in this respect ; but the idea of God is beginning to
act as a bond of union between tribes that are similar
and yet different, and is beginning to show a freedom
of movement and capability of progress that has the
promise of great things, however dimly apprehended
at the time. Thus, though we are compelled to view
him through the varied traditions that have gathered
round his name in the course of several centuries, we
may still regard Moses as, in a real sense, a man of
prophetic spirit, the founder of the Hebrew faith.
That his work was real, as far as it went, is proved by
the fact that the religion was not completely destroyed
by the fierce, chaotic struggles which followed im
mediately on the entrance into Palestine. In many
cases conquerors have been absorbed by the peoples
of the land they have entered. In this case tho same
effect followed to some extent, but the original religious
impulse was never completely lost, and it gave to its
possessors the power to absorb necessary elements of
faith without losing their distinctive character. From
Moses down to Philo men boldly claimed the best in
this world as belonging to " Yahweh," and so as the
property of His people. The Christian religion has,
with more catholicity, inherited the same spirit,
claiming that all things are to be brought into sub
mission to Christ. In other countries the territory
of the god increased with the growth of the city ;
but here we are compelled to find something more
real a spiritual life, and not a mechanical matter
of mere political accretion. While admitting tho
baffling nature of all origins, we believe that a new
chapter in the history of religion begins here ; that,
though Moses was not a literary man or a systematic
theologian, he had a real message from the eternal God,
whose highest messenger always appears in the lowly
form of a servant. Men rightly looked back to this
as a great hour (Hos. Hi). Prophets and priests
idealised it, each from their own standpoint ; and the
belief that this was an hour of new revelation was
never lost. Of course it was germinal ; it would have
been just as difficult for any human observer of that
time to tell exactly what would come out of it, as it
is for us now to disentangle its exact feature out of a
mass of varied and in some respects contradictory
material. A struggling mass of human beings, weary
of the wandering life, fighting for a new home, feeling
that the great blessing they needed from their God was
their daily bread and a place to live in peace this was

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

the unpromising material out of which sprang the
greatest religious movement that this world has known.
But in it, with its simple elemental facts and its
complexity of motives, may bo found a symbol and
suggestion of many similar movements, when men have
been thrown back upon the abiding mercy and supremo
power of God.

The Period of Struggle and Settlement. The picture
given in the original parts of Jg. is what we might
expect under the circumstances. Tradition rightly
represents that time as one of confusion, struggle,
assimilation. No real political unity had been attained.
" In those days there was no king in Israel : every
man did that which was right in his own eyes " (Jg.
2125). The material has been set in a later form and
interpreted by a simple formal religious philosophy,
but the primitive records tell of only partial conquest,
involving perpetual conflict. It is easy to see what
kind of theology and religious ceremonies wore likely
to grow in such a time and place. There is little of
purity or exclusiveness either in race or religion. The
Song of Deborah shows that only part of the tribes
gather for the great effort. In this noble battle-song
there is no " theology," and its praise of Jael is re
volting to our moral sense. But it is still clear that,
in so far as there is unity and strength to fight for
national existence, it is inspired by the common faith
in Yahweh. Samson marries outside hi.s clan ; the
sons of Benjamin take wives by capture ; Jephthah,
the son of a strange woman, sacrifices his daughter ;
Gideon takes the spoils of war to make an image ;
Micah s mother uses the restored silver to make an
image " unto Yahweh " ; and the children of Dan
think it a fine thing to steal the religious apparatus
that other people have got carefully together (Jg.
1817). This is not very edifying reading, either from
the Jewish or the Christian point of view, but it ia
full of interest as a picture of life, political and religious,
in those rude days. The noble effort of the great
founder seems to have failed ; it looks as if nothing
great or permanent can come out of this disorder, this
apparently disconnected and aimless struggle. But
it is the turmoil of a new life, and not the convulsive
struggles that betoken the last agony. Much in the
previous civilisation might be decadent, sensual ;
religious indulgence had weakened the life of the
country, and its cities had no real bond of unity ;
but here were members of a new and virile race, fresh
from the open country, their faces set towards the
future, their faith alive in a real God, who showed
His goings forth in the mightiest movements of nature
and in the battles of their daily life. So even here
there was a real movement towards a unity higher
than that of the mere family or clan. From these
stories we learn that religious ceremonies were con
nected with all the chief facts of life. The father of
the family or head of the clan might officiate as the
representative of the community, but there were also
professional priests, men attached to a family or local
sanctuary or wandering tribe. Such men offered
sacrifices and consulted the oracle on behalf of their
patrons. But the elaborate system and finely regu
lated spiritual hierarchy of later times had not come
into existence, though the ideas that it represented
were in some cases struggling for expression. The
prophet and the priest were not as clearly separated
as in later days. Samuel acts in both capacities.
One general difference there was, namely, that the
priest was more likely to inherit his office and to bo
fastened to a particular place. The priesthood of a
particular sanctuary might remain in the possession

of one family or cla,n. This made the priests tho
custodians and guardians of a special tradition and
ritual, varying in different localities, but with many
features in common.

There wore also " seers," " wise men," and
" prophets " of various types at this stage. Their
functions were not clearly defined ; by their superior
insight, ability, and acknowledged relation to God,
they were able to render service to their fellow-men.
The structure of society was simple, and the various
professional services were not elaborately organised,
but the needs of men were similar in all times. Re
ligious guidance, social help, the pursuit of justice,
and tho interpretation of uncommon facts of life
these made room for real spiritual insight or for
showy charlatanism or petty quackery, as in our day.
But the prophets that we are most concerned with
now are the bands of patriotic enthusiasts who arose
in times of excitement or danger, and in a real if in
a rude way kept alive the fiery energy of tho Yahweh
religion. Some among their compatriots might regard
them as " mad," and look with cooler criticism upon
their wild performances, but generally abnormal
sensational outbursts were attributed to " the spirit
of Yahweh" (2 K. 9n). Saul was caught in the
contagion of this "frenzied worship, to the surprise of
those who knew him (1 S. lOn). These bands stood
for loyalty to Yahweh and opposition to Philistine
oppression, and no doubt played a real part in the
struggles which prepared the way for the kingdom.
Here, at any rate, was tho belief that God could use
men as His instruments, sending flis Spirit to trouble
or to give them courage and strength. The same motive
and the same power moved " the heroes " who fought
against the surrounding peoples when they sought to
divide and oppress the Israelites. The strong indig
nation and furious resentment which prompted men
to determined resistance and fierce vengeance were
regarded as the result of the oncoming of Yahweh s
Spirit (Jg. 1825, 146, 15i 4 , 1 S. 116). Saul, who did
real work in the effort towards national unity, was a
capable man, a true patriot; he sends round tho
" fiery cross " in tho hour of need, he falls in with
the effort to check sorcery and witchcraft, and yet in
his moments of weakness be is troubled with " an
evil spirit," which produces jealousy and melancholy,
and in the crisis, before his final defeat, he has
recourse to " a witch," who professes to raise the dead
(1 S. 28).

Another element that has to be reckoned with is tho
conservatism or puritanism of those who looked back
upon the ideal of the desert life as simpler and more
religious. The culture of the vine and the use of ibs
products appeared to them as disloyalty to Yahweh.
These people were no doubt lacking in flexibility and
progressivencss, but the real reason of their protest
was religious -their objection to religious rites con
nected with tho new culture, and the fact that much
sensuality was associated with the Baal -worship of
the land. A great movement is tho resultant of many
forces, and the protest against effeminate luxury and
unbridled indulgence was not without its representa
tives in the earlier days.

The one thought that was about to be worked out
clearly was that the Israelites were Yahweh s people,
and their worship was duo to Him alone as their
benefactor in times of peace and their protector in
days of war. The gods of other peoples might have
their own place and territory (Jg. 1124). There was
as yet no world outlook or dream of missionary effort.
A fugitive or stranger who came within the borders

86

THE RELIGION OP ISRAEL

of Israel must, of course, join himself to some clan
and place himself under the protection of Israel s
God.

The Work of David, The work that Saul had under
taken received a certain completion under his suc
cessor, David. Though the united kingdom lasted
only some seventy years, his work was of permanent
importance. He was a loyal worshipper and servant
of Yahweh, with clear knowledge of the situation. Ho
made Jerusalem the political and religious centre for
the whole kingdom, and it has occupied a central
position in the world s history or in the regard of
mankind ever since. Wo cannot think of him as a
theologian or hymn-writer ; he was a soldier and states
man. A groat part of his life was spent in wandering
or in war, and when he came to the possession of large
power he had many troubles with his family and the
rough soldiers upon whom he had been compelled to
depend. We have a suggestive and reliable, if not a
perfect or systematic, picture of his life and times.
For him Yahweh was a great God, the supreme God
of Israel, though His actual rule is limited to Israel
territory (1 S. 26ig). The striking story of 2 S. 21
shows that he, and the Church of his time, still stood
on the old tribal level (cf. Dt, 24i6, Jer, 31 30, ]->.ek.
1820). What a great step from this to the advanced
theology of Ps. 139, attributed by later scribes to this
great king ! However, the union of the tribes and the
choice of an important capital city was an event of
religious importance for the life of Israel and the
world. The local sanctuaries still had their place,
and religious officials of various kinds were scattered
throughout the land. But the bunging of the Ark
to Jerusalem and the desire for a permanent dwelling-
place of Yahweh marked an advance.

At the king s court soldiers, councillors, priests, and
prophets were assembled, and a now and more im
portant centre of hfo was thus formed. The king
was a man of his time, in many ways rough, impulsive,
self-willed ; but he leaves upon us the impression of
rare strength, power of leadership, a certain frankness
of nature, and magnanimity of spirit. He receives
counsel from " a wise woman," accepts meekly the
stern rebuke of Nathan, and seeks to restrain the fierce
men of blood whom ho l;as had to use as his instru
ments. Judged by the standards of his own time he
is a true and noble embodiment of Israel s religion.
He is loyal to Yahweh, and is not content with a mere
formal worship. He comes into the main current of
this great religious movement ; he would give due
honour to the God of his fathers, from whom his king
ship came ; and ho prepared the way for " the city
of God," of whose full glory and influence he never
dreamed. Before there could be a national religion,
in the full sense, the nation must be created ; then,
when the national religion came, it must take time to
realise its true nature before the consciousness could
arise that here was something of more than national
significance. This was, in the meantime, merely a new
fixed point in the midst of a political life that was still
restless and unstable. One needs to remember the
difference between the small communities in Palestine
and the large empires of Assyria or Babylonia. In
great regions covered by one complex civil and military
organisation officialism reigned supreme ; there were
millions of human beings that were severely drilled
to take their part as units in an immense machine.
This made possible the network of canals, the great
cities and lofty towers, magnificent products of human
skill, that were a cause of astonishment and religious
reflection to simpler peoples (Gen. lli-g). On the

other hand, the tribes of Israel had not been subject
to any such " steam-roller process " as tended to crush
individuality and destroy local peculiarities. They
were a " stiff-necked people " (Dt. 1)13). That appro
priate phrase, spoken in blame, suggests to us some
thing that is not altogether evil. Their great religious
contribution to the world could never have come from
a soft, pliable people, easily influenced and easily
losing impressions. The scp arateness of family and
clan, which lent itself to the easy formation of
" faction," had its advantages from the point of view
of religious progress. We see now, more clearly than
ever, that it was not a smooth, easy movement ; there
was fighting at every point, against external foes and
internal division. No new stage was gained without
a fierce contest, and when a great truth was conquered
it was fixed in forms that would not easily die. Thus
wo can understand the reaction against the unitc^
kingdom which led to the disruption immediately
after the death of Solomon. Religion, politics, and
what we now call " economic " causes all played a
part. There was an objection to rapid centralisation,
forced labour, and heavy taxes for the glory of the
king and the enrichment of the capital city! There
was always a democratic vein in prophecy, and the
oriental deification of the actual king could not easily
find a place in the religion of Yahweh. An interesting
anticipation of the impression produced by the tyranny
of the king and the extravagance of the court has been
placed in the mouth of Samuel (1 S. 8). This revolt
against the authorities in Jerusalem, and the setting
up of a prosperous kingdom in tho north, which gained
a strong and attractive capital at Samaria, was a
source of political weakness. But the possible rivalry,
when it did not degenerate into fratricidal strife, tended
to produce a fuller, richer life. Complete centralisa
tion and uniformity at this stage would have had a
cramping effect. Both kingdoms claimed Yahweh as
their God, and had in many respects a common life
and literature. There was now, as the communities
became more settled, an increase in the spread of edu
cation. Court chronicles began to be kept, simple
codes of laws arranged (Ex. 20-23), and collections
of songs and stories to be made (Jos. 1013, 2 S. li;).
This material, existing before in written fragments or
as oral tradition, began to be gathered in simple syste
matic forms, and so the earliest foundations were laid
for our present OT (pp. 44f.).

The Work of Elijah. The name of this great prophet
has comp to ua in a blaze of glory ; the stories that
tell of his life and work have a high literary character
and great spiritual power. To have produced such an
impression and left such a record ho must have been a
man of wonderful energy and a prophet of great dis
tinction. Here, as elsewhere, we have to remember
that the idea which plays such an important part in
our explanation of nature and history had not come
to clear^ expression then, viz. that of process. There
is a tendency in ancient literature, and particularly in
Hebrew story, to gather under the name of one man
achievements that represent tho struggle of a genera
tion or more of intelligent and heroic workers. This
is true in the case of all such great names as Moses,
Joshua, David, Solomon, and Elijah. Hence, at this
point we need to review not so much the life of this
particular prophet as the whole relation of Hebrew
religion to the life of Canaan. Elijah is a prophet of
the desert ; he represents the old faith and the stern
simplicity of nomad religion ; ho is at home in the
wilderness, and flees for refuge to the ancient moun
tain sanctuary of Horeb. Ho has left no sermons ;

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

he was no theologian. He makes no claim for the
centralisation of worship ; he does not discuss details
of ritual ; he frankly recognises the use of many altars
(1 K. 1014), but he declares that the people of Israel,
under the influence of the court, are turning to the
worship of the Tyrian Baal. Yahweh alone must bo
worshipped by Israelites. The question as to the use
of images or symbols is not raised. The demand is
for the exclusive worship of Yahweh by His own people.
Without attempting a critical analysis and estimate of
the documents hero involved, it seems evident that in
this period, both in Israel and Judah, there was a
revolt against tho Baal-worship introduced through the
connexion of the royal families with the dynasty of
Tyre. If such worship had been confined to small
circles of foreigners it could scarcely have caused such
a sensation, though there was an increasing apprehen
sion of the fact that Yahweh was " a jealous God."
Probably many Israelites were becoming lax and too
tolerant, and so stimulated the zeal of the stricter
devotees. The fact that Elijah resisted the tyranny
and oppression of the rulers, as shown in tho case of
Nabpth s vineyard, shows that he stands in the line
of the true prophetic tradition that Israel s God is
the defender of simple justice and the avenger of inno
cent blood (Gen. 4io). That is a great thought of
God, at a time when men generally accepted the king
as a kind of god above tho law, entitled to gratify^
without scruple, his arbitrary will. Tho greatest
battles for liberty in this world have been fought by
men who appealed to a God of justice against the unjust
claims of Crcsar. Turning again to the theological
side of the situation, the point to be emphasised is
that the Yahweh religion, having absorbed much nutri
ment from Canaanito culture and Baal-worship, now,
in the person of its strict representatives, felt itself
quite foreign and superior to the similar Phoenician
worship that was threatening an invasion. Hebrew
religion can tolerate no appearance of rivalry within
its own territory ; that must be made clear in a reli
gion that is destined to still larger conquests. The
characteristic of the true religion is that it is alive,
which in the highest sense means not simply the power
to light for a bare name or abstract formula, but much
more the power to enrich its own idea of religion and
of God by absorbing true elements from the culture
w th which it comes in contact. We have now passed
the time when we regard any great system of faith
and worship as completely and absolutely false ; we
know that in a world which belongs to God such a
system would soon fall to pieces. Further, when two
systems come into contact and conflict, while that
which is higher may ultimately prevail, it can do so
only on the condition of completing itself even from
a hostile source. Through all these struggles with
the Canaanites the Hebrews maintained the name of
Yahweh their God, and their faith in Him was tho
bond of union and the inspiration of any heroic and
successful action. As we have already suggested,
tribal traditions and family usages remained in full
force, and only gradually and by slow action and re
action were they eliminated or reinterpreted and trans
formed. Tho same process took place in regard to
Canaanite customs. To some of these the real repre
sentatives of Hebrew religion were sternly and con
sistently opposed, while the mass of the people were
easily induced to follow the prevailing fashions. As
ihey became more completely a settled people they
must be more thoroughly influenced by the religious
beliefs and ceremonies connected with the culture of
;he soil. Tho name Baal means lord or owner ; it

87

is not in itself the name of tho god of a whole land
or tribe, but of the patron god of a particular locality.
The shade of meaning attached at any time to such a
word must necessarily be vague and variable. To tho
popular mind there were many Baals, just as in Roman
Catholic ^ countries, among simple and unreflecting
people, " Our Lady " of a particular city acquires
special local qualities, and is differentiated from other
manifestations of the One Virgin (Notre Dame do
Paris, Notre Dame de Lourdes, etc.). Tho Baal meant
tho divinity that gave fruitfulncss to a piece of soil.
As such fruitf illness is similar in all cases, it might
easily be generalised and a general significance bo
given to the name ; but side by side the belief could
remain in a number of particular Baals. The Israelite
teachers maintained that Yahweh was one (Dt. 64).
They were clear on that point. There might be many
Baals that would need investigation but as to this
there could be no doubt, that it was one and tho same
Yahweh who manifested Himself to tho believing
Israelites wherever the conditions were favourable to
His appearance. This is much more important than
it appears on the surface : the search of the highest
philosophy and deepest religious feeling is for unity
behind all the varied appearances of nature and mani
festations of life. The unity of Yahweh- worship over
against the divisions and distractions of Baal-worship
is a real revelation, a great advance in this movement.
But a bare unity or a mere name cannot have the
highest power ; the claim must bo made that Yahweh
is the God of the pleasant, fruitful land as well as of
the fierce storm and " the great and terrible wilder
ness." This means tho transference of ancient
sanctuaries and altars to Yahweh, and tho adoption
of Canaanite forms of worship, and there is always
danger in such assimilation. But this inevitable
movement carried with it the possibility of an enlarge
ment and enrichment of thought of Yahweh as " tho
God of nature " in a fuller sense than before. Both
these things are clearly implied in the later polemic
of Hosea and Deuteronomy. The enervating, corrupt
ing influence of Baal-worship was recognised, but tho
claim was clearly stated that the reason for such
worship lay in the fact that men attributed to the local
Baals powers and gifts which really belonged to the
supremo Lord, Yahweh. Wo are now specially con
cerned to notice that, while during their early centuries
of toilsome effort, spent in acquiring a sure settlement
in the land, the life and religion of the people had
been largely influenced by the new conditions, they
themselves were not conscious of the extent of that
influence, but maintained their full loyalty to Yahweh.
They worshipped Yahweh at various sanctuaries, with
pilgrimages and festivals, with ritual and sacrifice ;
they had departed from tho simple desert standard,
and entered fully into the life of their now home, but yet
they had learned to cherish a certain healthy intoler
ance and exclusiveness. Elijah represents for us this
revolt against any other god, and ho calls upon tho
people to choose between Yahweh and Baal, as in the
circumstances it was not possible to serve two masters.
This became a political issue, with conspiracies and
massacres following in its train : it led to a change of
dynasty in tho north, and brought into the kingdom
a spirit of faction that prepared the way for its final
destruction. The strict followers of Yahweh no doubt
represented a larger and purer faith ; they were in
the ma,in stream, they had a permanent contribution
to make to the life of humanity, but their temper was
violent, their methods rude. The picture of the giant
Elijah over against the peevish weakling Ahab may

88

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

in its sharp contrast bo powerful poetry rather than
finely-balanced history ; but in such a striking state
ment as that Ahab went up to eat and drink and Elijah
went up to the top of Carmel to learn the Divine pur
pose (1 K. 1842) there is a true impression of the
nature of the contending forces. Out of the conflict
there came, both for Israel and Judah, a fuller and
clearer recognition of the fact that Yuhweh, and
Yahweh alone, was the God of all true Israelites.
There was also a fuller consciousness of what was
meant by that statement. If Yahweh had not yet
conquered the world or completely extended His rule
into the dark underworld of Sheol, He had secured
the lordship of Palestine and the acknowledgment that
there 110 gods could be tolerated alongside of Him.
It was universally admitted that to be a true Israelite
meant to give exclusive worship to Yah well ; priests,
prophets, leaders, and people had all come to this.
All commerce with other gods or demons with heathenish
sorcery and magic must be a shameful, secret thing.

The Prophetic Movement. This brings us to what is
called " the prophetic movement " in the strictest
sense, although we must not forget the warning that
in a living process we must not make our distinctions
and differences too deep. Some of the early narratives
show material that is handled in " a prophetic spirit,"
and they reveal the sense of man s " sinfulness," which
it was (he work of the prophets to deepen and define
(<-/. Gen. 3, 0,11). For example, Isaiah lays great st rcs-s
on the feebleness and futility of human arrogance
(Is. 2f.), and the same subject is treated in a different
form, but with some similarity <>f spiiit, in the stories
of Paradise and the Tower of j ubcl.

Our attention is now called to the work of those
prophets who were the first to transmit to posterity
actual notes of their sermons. These are the prophets
of the Assyrian period Amos, Hosca, Jsniah, and
Micah. For the purpose of this brief sketch the books
of Nah., Hab., and Zeph. may be neglected, since, in
so far as they have any significant message, it is de
pendent on the great original preachers. The critical
questions must bo left untouched and results of recent
research assumed. We seek to understand the message
of these preachers, anil how we can b -st stale its
relation to what has gone before. The careful com
position of the sermons, brief and few as they are,
shows that literary influences had been for some time
at work. Their preservation proves that even in
these troubled times there were students and disciples
(Is. 816, 303). These, four eighth-century prophets
have their differences of circumstances, temperament,
and style, but they join in the one protest against the
social weakness and impure worship of their time, and,
broadly speaking, present the same message and make
the same demands. Amos, the stern messenger to
Israel from outside ; Hosea, emotional, tender, and
showing intimacy and sympathy even in his denuncia
tions ; Isaiah, the man of the city, courtier, and states
man ; Micah, the rude peasant of the Judfcan low
lands these men have much in common. They give
us a striking proof that Yahweh, the living God, is
one one in His purpose through history, one in His
demand for justice and call for service. They regarded
themselves as conservatives, and in the best sense this
was true. They might to a certain extent idealise
the past, but two facts in this connexion we must
recognise : (a) There is deterioration as well as pro
gress in the life of a nation which, on the whole, is
moving upward ; hence there is something to bo
learned from the simplicity and brotherliness of earlier
days. (6) These prophets were not absolutely new

in their life and original in their thought ; they did
rest upon a real historical basis and manifested a real
continuity of life. Further, in any time of transition,
in living creative periods, the only way to conserve
the revelation of the past is to reach the heart of it,
bring out its real meaning, and show its application
to the new age. Our ultimate explanation of such
men may bo that God called them, manifested to them
His glory, and revealed to them His will. But this
happens in particular circumstances and under certain
conditions. Natural environment and economic causes
can never be for us the full explanation of the move
ment of the Divine and human spirit. We must not,
however, ignore these, since the consideration of them
helps us to realise that these prophets were men like
ourselves, face to face with definite social problems,
in a time of unrest and transition, seeking the solution
by a clearer recognition of God and a more intelligent
application of religious principles. In fact, Israel
could not have been God s greatest instrument for the
preparation of a world-wide religion if her life had
been perpetually fixed and fastened down to one form,
semi-nomad or pastoral. Old truth can bo enlarged
and new principles brought to light only by the claims
of new circumstances and the demand of new needs.
By the growth of commerce, increase of wealth, en
largement of cities, old tribal arrangements and clan
tics had broken down. It is the direct or implicit
complaint of all these prophets that Israelites, in
regard to each other, are " more than kin but less than
kind.." The arrangement by which eve:y family
could have its tract of land, every man his own
house, and small communities live together in a
brotherly spirit, with slight inequalities of social
conditions that state of things could no longer bo
maintained. Denunciation of the greedy land-
grabbers, the careless or unjust rulers, and the arrogant
rich oppressors, now appears as a regular part of the
preacher s programme. It has come back at different
periods, and has reached a larger form in our own day ;
but the moral basis and religious inspiration must
always come from the great prophetic ideas. The
period in which this prophetic movement takes its
rise was evidently a time of prosperity, for many could
indulge in vulgar display and luxurious living ; but,
as ever, social unrest, coming from the oppression of
the poor and the perversion of justice, was the result
of the unequal distribution of wealth and the lack of
unselfish leadership. A strongly-marked feature of
the genuine oracles of Micah is their fierce denunciation
of the wickedness and folly of the ruling classes.

Neglecting for the moment any special theological
peculiarities of particular prophets, we may sum up
their teaching as referring to this world and being
social and moral in its character. They do not face
the question of personal immortality, and it is doubtful
whether they give any clear programme as to the future
of the nation beyond the fact of an imminent severe
judgment, which will partly destroy and partly purify
the community. When we speak of their message as
social, we mean that they are dealing with men not
in their individual capacity as separate souls, but as
members of the community, and that they set forth
religion as the right discharge of social obligations.
When we say that it is moral, we give prominence to
the fact that they denounce the attempt to make ritual
a substitute for social goodness. They are not de
nouncing Baal-worship or discussing the value of
symbolism ; their position is that this is not the kind
of worship and service that Yahweh requires (Am. 44,
521-24, Hcs. (k>, Is. Iio-i7, Mi. 3io). It haa

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

89

been settled that there is only one God for Israol ;
the question of the nature of the worship and service
that He can require and will accept is now lifted to a
higher piano. How far and in what way these men
would have abolished or reformed the existing cultus
we cannot say. We may conjecture that Isaiah loved
the Temple, and found many sacred associations with
it ; that Micah hated the pretentious ritual used by
the oppressors of the people ; that Amos found God
more easily in the silence of the desert than in the
noisy religious festivals ; and that Hosea would have
shown more aesthetic feeling and poetic sentiment in
handling such a subject than the stern prophets from
the country wore capable of displaying. This is
legitimate speculation, guided by our actual knowledge
of the men. But, after all, wo have to say that they
were engaged in a conflict against shallow, sensuous
ritualism, and that in their polemic there is no dis
cussion of fine distinctions, but a simple demand for
honesty in private and public service, for a just adminis
tration of civic affairs, and a sympathetic care for the
poor. For the first time in the history of the world
we find what wo call " social morality " presented as
the highest expression of the religious life, and this
is done with remarkable clearness and boldness in tho
name of Israel s God. It is evident that such teaching
is ethical in tho noblest sense. But what do we mean
when we say that because it is ethical it is monotheistic ?
The answer to this is that it is a kind or teaching that
implies the thought of one God for the world. And
on furthoj. 1 reflection, if their central message is accepted,
this implication must formulate itself in a sharper,
more dogmatic fashion. Judgment is about to come
upon the nation in both sections, not on account of
the capricious anger of the deity at insufficient tribute
in the form of sacrifices, but because of the people s
failure to reach a certain standard of righteousness
(Am. 3.T, Is. 01-7). Yahweh punishes Mis own people
for their hick of goodness, this being regarded as
morality and not mere religiosity. Further, the same
standard is applied to other tribes and nations : they
are to be judged not because they are non- Israelites,
but because of their greed, cruelty, and inhumanity
(Am. 1). We to-day may argue that because there
is one God there should be one standard of morality
for public and private life, and one law of justice and
kindness among men of different cvecd;, ;nd nations.
But the historical movement worked in the other
direction. Men of true spiritual insight learned first
that their God required real service and not coarse
sacrifices or magical rites, and then they advanced
to the belief that the kingdom of this God of righteous
ness was not bounded by geographical or tribal limi
tations. But every step of the way had to be fought,
lor old enemies of formalism and sectarianism con
stantly returned in new forms, and the Jews preserved
for others what they did not fully realise- for thcm-
se ves. These great beliefs were rooted in the sacred
past of their nation, and it took a long time to bring
out their full significance ; but now it stands in a
clear light as a central contribution to religious thought,
as one of the highest gifts of revelation. The nation
might perish, but God and righteousness must rule.
What sublime faith is this ! How far it soars above
all small ritualism and narrow patriotism !

As a matter of fact the northern kingdom was lest,
and it was left to the small community in Judeea to
keep alive the sacred tradition and preserve in its
purer form the worship of Yahweh. Even in those
days spiritual problems could not really be settled by
brute force. The internal factions within the kingdom

of Israel, partly political, partly religious, weakened
tho government and prepared the way for the external
foe. After the conquest of the kingdom and the fall
of Samaria in 721 B.C., many of the inhabitants were
taken away and other settlers brought in to take their
place ; thus there was produced a mixed race and a
mongrel religion (2 K. 176,24-41). Elijah, bat moro
probably Jehu, might delight in this grim business of
slaughtering priests of Baal, but not thus does religion
gain its real victories. The " ten tribes " were " lost "
in tho sense that those of them who were taken away
had not sufficient individuality and strength of char
acter to retain their separateness. Those that re
mained in Palestine did maintain an inferior type of
Hebrew religion, but the efforts to reunite tho two
brandies after the Exile failed, and the Samaritan
religion continued its own stunted, barren existence
(Jn. 49,22).

It is not our task to attempt a detailed analysis of
the books, to investigate the nature of prophecy and
prediction, or to give a systematic account of tho
theology of the prophets ; but at this point a brief
statement must be made for the purpose of bringing
out the connexion of their work with the next phase
of the movement. It cannot be proved, with any
approach to certainty, that any of these four men had
a definite " eschatology : or a clearly-defined pro
gramme of the destiny of the nation after the approach
ing judgmeai;. Passages found in these books regard
ing a personal Messiah probably belong to a later date.
According to the view we have formed of these docu
ments, Amos and Micah did not speculate as to the
future course of history. Hosea, with his principle
of a bond of love between Yahweh and His people,
no doubt cherished the hope of repentance and return.
Isaiah approaches the most closely to " a theologian " ;
he has a central thought of Yahweh from which radiates
all his thought of religion, as applied to politics and
civic life. To him we owe the doctrine of " tho rem
nant," and tlie faith that Jerusalem would be delivered
from the foreign foe. He spent a long time in publio
life ; he had to meet the people in varied circumstances
and in many moods. On the whole, while his ministry
was one of denunciation, there must have been many
hours of hope in the life of one who carried on such .
long strife on behalf of a sane political policy and ;\
pure worship of Yahweh (Is. 121-26). Even if he had
no elaborate eschatology, he was the prophet of faitii
in a ne\v and deeper sense (7g, SOis) ; he gave spiritu
ality a r j well f<s splendour to his picture of Yahweh,
the supreme King, whose glory fills tho whole eaiih.

The Beuieronomic Movement It is dn ticuit to
trace precisely the immediate effect of Isaiah on the
religious organisation, and to learn how far any real
effort was made by Hezekiaii for the centralisation
and purification of worship. There seems to have been
a fierce reaction, which placed the prophetic party
in a perilous position, and the reign of Manasseh was
a time of darkness for tho disciples of a purer faith
(2 K. 21). Through such times a great religious
movement comes with a nobler faith and more heroic
courage. The Book of Deuteronomy is now accepted
as in the main the product of this century. It is a
blending of prophetic teaching and purified priestly
ritual. It has apparently three elements the his
torical, the preaching, and the legal but the whok-
book is pervaded by an earnest persuasive spirit. It >
aim is to produce a community of " saints," a kingdom
of God on earth, and so avert thz threatened judgment.
In a sense the bock is dramatic ; it} history, sermons,
and laws are ail placed in the mouth of the ancient

90

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

prophet Moses. The narratives of Exodus are turned
into direct speeches, and the Book of the Covenant is
amplified and modified. In the :;ermons the groat
lines of thought sire the oneness of Yahweh the God
of Israel, the view of history as a Divine discipline,
and the danger of forgetting God in the hour of pros
perity. Such a book clearly stands in the middle of
this history and not at its beginning ; the historv is
reviewed and made matter for spiritaai iciiection, the
earlier documents am freely used and readapted. The
demand for one central sanctuary now becomes in
telligible and possible. It can be shown by many
detailed proof s that the teaching of the great prophets
has left its mark on this wonderful book. With all
the limitations involved and danger? , incurred, it was
inevitable that the prophetic teaching, if it was to
leave any other effect th.au the testimony of the
written page, must embody itself in reforms of Church
and State. We have not yet solved the piobiom as
to the parts that the two forces represented in !)t.,
preaching and legislation, must play hi the creation
of social goodiic.-x. There is no d<,gm.;itio solution,
because circumstances and other : c;s involved a TO
always changing in a living nation. \Vhile
of Jeremiah or an} particular prophet lo this movement
is doubtful >p. -to. 474, 4SO), it is clear 1 hat this epoch-
making book did represent, on the part of many, an
honest cfi oii to purify ; and to brin.-: a highr.r

humanitarian sentimci f into the Lav, and that it
helped hen the lofl heistic tendencies

of the faith. To us one God means that in any place
we may worship hi a spiritual fashion, and that no
city or sani nave a monopoly of l!is spceia!

presence (.In. 4-i$). Yet we ean concede iha! thn aboli
tion of local s;uu t;iari< -> and the concentration of {lie
Jewish sacrificial worship in Jerusalem was a move
ment in iho direction of univorsalisin. It drew :i
clearer iiiK between i\\" sacred and secular, and had
to grant powers to the local elders that could not
possibly be limited to Jerusalem. It gave /,< /<><, .?
a more prominent position in religion, and laid new
emphasis on the i ; teaching; these elementr,,

that then held a ;: :<. rdi^ate place were hier .seen to
have a wider influence than any ?iv-re loci! icforms.
What could or might have happened if the nation had
survived to give Hi" Deuteronomic influence a fuller
trial, in the then existing circumstances, it is idle to
speculate. In a certain sense this book saved the
rel gion. and if there were many of its adherents who
believed fanatically in the efficacy of the new law and
the inviolability of the Temple, to that extent it helped
to destroy the nation.

Jeremiah. The tragic death of the young king
Josiah and the strife of parties produced an uncer
tainty of policy which could end only in national
disaster. The prophet Jeremiah gave sober counsel
and frequent warning as well as strong denunciation,
lie r:aw that the threatened judgment must come, but
his plan of recognising stern facts and bowing befoia
the great Babylonian power might have lessened the
terrors of lie situation and h, led the final

tragedy. But to do this required an art of faith
faith to see the hand of Yahweh in the real events of
history, of which neither the kings nor the people were
capable. Jeremiah gave his faithful testimony during
many yeavs, and. after the destruction of Jerusalem
was dragged away to Egypt, where his end is veiled
in darkness. He was a worthy successor of the great
prophets, and did much to give a deeper sense of indi
vidual life and a higher spirituality to religion. Though
the book that bears his name is in a confused condition,

and contains much material of various kinds that did
not come from his hand, we can gain from it a vivid
picture of the disorder of tho times, of his outward
conflicts and inward struggles. In his story we find
more of personal " experience " in the sense in which
we now use that word. He had the conviction that
he was, as an individual, foreordained to a groat task
(Jer. 15), but that did not end tho matter; he was
often subject to inward misgivings and wrestlings
regarding his call and work. He makes complaints
to his God and bewails his hard lot. Ho is gentle and
sensitive, but cannot attain to the height of Christian
resignation and calmness. But it was a terrible life,
to be always on the strain, denouncing false prophets,
exposing popular delusions, declaring unceasingly that
tho policy of the loaders must lead to inevitable doom.
The great prophetic message, that has already been
discussed, he presented in his own way with bold
imagery and gentle poetic beauty, which shows that
he lived in communion with nature and in intimate
sympathy with human life. His life, the stoiy of it,
and his poems, must have exerted a great influence,
though at the time it all seemed to be such a tragic
failure. When the reaction came, and men could see
his utter truthfulness and loyalty, this " man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief " was seen to bo
one of the noblest of those saints to whom the true
Israel owes so much. The part that he played in the
growth of Israel s religion may bo briefly summed up
hy -aying that he deepened it, and made it more a
matter of personal life and individual experience. Ho
was a forerunner of the great poet who wrote- tho
speeches of Job in that we see in him a man conscious
of his own personality over against the personality of
( od. JJe comes to the very throne of God, not simply
vvith humble cries for help, but also with demands for
reason, justification, and defence. The fanatical
dogma of the inviolability of the Temple he could not
accept, but he could, wo believe, look forward to a
time when a new covenant would be written upon the
hearts of believing men (31si, Heb. 88). Tho fulfil
ment of his predictions and the spirituality of his
teaching helped to save tho religion when the nation
was lost.

The Significance of the Exile for Hebrew Religion.
When a number of Israelites were deported to Assyria
almost one hundred and fifty years earlier, they were
probably scattered over a wide area, and as they had
not attained sufficient distinction of character they
were very largely " lost," so far as any living relation
to this great movement was concerned. But the case,
of the Jews was different ; it was the better class or
the people who wore taken away. They had enjoyed
during the past century the influence of many great
teachers, and they seem to have been planted in colonies
in Babylonia, where they could enjoy intercourse
with each other and form some kind of religious or
ganisation (Jer. 24, 29). Thus, when these communities
came to face the question, " How can wo sing Yahweh s
song in a foreign iand ? " (Ps. 137), they had some real
equipment with which to solve the problem. Exile
could not mean to them that is, to those who ii 1 , any
degree preserved their faith a decree to go and servo
foreign gods. Some, no doubt, did yield to this temp
tation both at home and abroad, for any great crisis
means loss to those whose faith is not deeply rooted.
But the hour of bereavement and silence is for the men
of faith tho hour of thought ; they reflect upon thrj
content of tho old song, and it reveals its deeper
meaning. Not only did circumcision and the Sabbath
as ordinances of distinction from other peoples gain

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

91

more prominence, but also within the hedge thus formed
there was real intellectual life, bringing a consciousness
that they possessed something which was _ of more
than national significance, and their vision of the real
sacrifice as the contrite heart and not the mere material
offering. It was a time of heart-searching, and many
were led to recognise that the verdict of history had
confirmed the message of the earlier prophets (Zech.
ID). The situation was complex and many-sided.
Some may have even desired to build a temple in
Babylonia, others may have thought that the religion,
could live without a temple. The leaders wore thrown
back upon the earlier literature, " the book " became
more important, and in that there was the germ of
later Rabbin ism ; the need for study and teaching was
felt, and this was destined to create schools that would
mean more to Judaism and the world than any temple.
" The Law " came to be something more minute and
comprehensive, but, as we may see from the later litera
ture, it could not confine the fulness and variety of
life or crush the universal tendencies inherent in the
prophetic faith. Out of the ruins of a nation there
came a Church, but that Jewish Church inherits the
rich revelation and noble influence of the Hebrew
religion. To speak of it as " a sect " is not fair ; the
life is too varied and catholic to be summed up in that
reproachful word ; it contained all the elements of
the " high," " low," and " broad " sections. It is
true that we sometimes find these elements at war
with each other, but we have received the rich result
of the whole movement.

Ezekiel works in the midst of the exiles ; ho declare.;
that the destruction of Jerusalem must be completed,
and when that prediction is fulfilled he sets himself
to face the problems of the future. He is a striking
figure, a prophet judging the history of hia people by
absolute standards, a visionary with strange ecstatic
experiences, a poet with great descriptive power, a
pastor realising the dreadful responsibility of his office,
a priest socking to build up a holy nation. He
has been called"" the father of Judaism," and " the
creator of eschatology ; " and if those terms are taken
with the necessary qualifications they may stand,
since he sketches a constitution for the restored com
munity in Palestine, and makes a rich eschatological
contribution. In this man of priestly family varied
elements exist side by side without beinr; fused into
a consistent system. He has affinities with Jeremiah,
but his type of mind and conception of the Church are
different. He is a High Churchman, not lacking in
evangelical qualities. Some truths, such as personal
responsibility, he presents in a way that we are tempted
to call mechanical that is, in a hard, abstract manner,
out of all living relation to the complementary truth
of heredity. There was, after all, some truth in the
statement that " the fathers had eaten sour grapes and
the children s teeth were set on edge." However,
while his weight falls heavily on the side of the priestly
view, he did important work as a preacher of judgment
and a prophet of faith. He believed that, at the
Divine command, the dead bones of a ruined nation
could rise up as a mighty army before God, and that
the heart of stone could, by a miracle of grace, be
turned into a heart of flesh.

The Theology of Deutero- Isaiah. At this stage it
is necessary to recognise the significance of the great
message contained in Is. 40-55. Though different in
its spirit and style, it takes rank with the other great
prophetic sections. We do not know the name of the
author, and we cannot say with any certainty where
he lived. On account of its historical background,

theology, and language and style this book cannot be
earlier than the time of the Babylonian Exile, and the
attempts to place it later are not convincing. The
writer is evidently not a public leader, pastor, or
prophet in the same sense as Isaiah, Jeremiah, cmd
Ezekiel. He is not facing particular concrete situa
tions in the same way ; he is a poet brooding over the
great national disaster, and seeking to impart to
others the message of comfort and hope which heavenly
voices have brought to his soul. Pro-exilic prophecy
had been mainly a word of warning and threatening ;
in Ezekiel promise follows denunciation. Deutero-
Isaiah bring. 1 ; a message of pure comfort, and to that
extent strikes a new note in prophecy. What we have
here (Is. 40-55) is a collection of poems whose origin
may extend over a number of years, yet we are justi
fied in speaking of it as " The Book of Consolation,"
seeing that there is sufficient unity of subject and
spirit in these poems concerning Zion the Bride of
Yahweh, and Israel the Servant of Yahweh, to bind
the various elements together, if not to prove the
genuineness of every passage. Even if we should
have to admit the separate origin and the later date
of the great Servant passages (40i-4, 49i-6, 514-9,
52i3-53 12), it is sufficient for this general review for
us to note that the Servant idea, in its national sense,
receives here a very high form of expression. Tho
writer brings a great message of redemption, so that
he has been rightly called " the evangelist of the OT."
The tone is tender throughout ; even his denunciations
of enemies and his polemic against idol-worshippers
are free from the coarse, bitter invective that is gener
ated by actual strife ; underlying all his utterances is
a strong conviction that the word of Yahweh is ab
solutely reliable. Empires may fall and perish, but
it remains ; it is a great world-force, which, like the
powers of nature, must do its work (40s, 55io). To a
nation whose members are scattered and whose
sanctuary lies in ruins he addresses the word of con
solation (4027). But he does this not with some light,
soothing song, but with a magnificent conception of
God and a massive theology. The belief that Yahweh
is the God of nature, history, and redemption receives
here a fuller exposition and more brilliant expression.
These are not dead forms or abstract categories, the
whole presentation thrills with life. God s manifesta
tion of His power and wisdom in the actual events of
creation and history is here not a finished work, but
a present energy, fresh, plastic. An inspiring, hopeful
word was sorely needed in this situation, hence thy
movement of the theology is from God to man. Thece
is little of the pastoral hortatory (the genuineness of
557 is questioned) ; the promises all rest on Yahweh s
supreme power and sovereign grace. What could any
nmn or organisation of men do for a nation in such a
condition ? If its destinies are not cared for by Him
who rules the universe there is no hope. The thought
of election naturally plays a great part, on account of
the nature of the" theme and the character of the
theology. In the earlier days there was a choice of
and a covenant with Israel by Yahweh, but it was not
a doctrine of elect tow, for then the God and the people
completely corresponded to each other, and, except
as enemies to be conquered, other gods and other
peoples did not come into the calculation ; but now
election expresses the special relation which Israel
holds to Yahweh, the supreme God before whom all
nations and gods must bow. We cannot say that here
there is no element of particularism or tinge of
favouritism left that would be an exaggeration;
but we can maintain that election becomes in this

92

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

groat message, more than ever before. eLotiou to
service and not merely to privilege. There is an
escliatology hero : tin- wonderful deliverance and the
miraculous journey across the desert arc to lead to a
new and glorious kingdom in Jerusalem ; but a
Gentile king is to be Yahweh s instrument, a Alessiah
in the secular sphere ; the ends of the earth are in
vited to look unto Yahwch for salvation ; the Servant
has a mission to the outside world, and there is no
grim picture of the ruthless slaughter of the heathen.
In fact, in this section the OT rises to its loftiest height.
After the great prophets and the IJeuteronomic reform
there has arisen a pod who can see what is implied
in the earlier teaching, and with clear intelligence and
enthusiastic faith can sini; a new song to Yahweh and
declare 11 s praise unto the ends of i he earth ( i-io).
Particularly is this true of the idea of vicarious sacri
fice presented in eh. ~>3 ; if this comes irom Deutero-
Isaiah, it refers to Israel s suji ering cs a preparation
and qualification for world-service. That individual
men should sulTer with and for others was no new idea ;
it was held in coime\ion \\ith the primitive conception
of the solidarity of the tiibe; but hoie it reaches a
higher plane of religions faith. The writer confronts
the popular view in regard to an afllicted man and a
defeated nation and rejects it : " We did esteem him
stricken, smitten of (iod, nncl uffiieted. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was
upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed " (cf.
the great eonilict in she Book of Job). The strength of
faith and the purity of thought hero revealed are not
affected by the question whether the speakers are the
heathen iccogpising the meaning of Israel s aflliclion,
or the Jewish community giving a sacrificial and
Messianic meaning to the iife of one of its saints and
martyrs. The endowment of " the spirit of Yahweh :
resting on the true teacher, giving insight, calmness,
and courage, is another feature that shows an advance
upon the early conception, which tended to find the
D.v ne most fully in the abnormal, fitful, or ecstatic
condition (42i~4).

Post-Fxilie Judaism. There are many historical
problems connected with the origin and constitution
of the later Jewish Church which \vo cannot discuss,
but we must attempt merely a brief summary of the
theological situation. It is clear that, if the historical
continuity was not to be broken, many of the exiles
must return and the Temple be rebuilt. The centre
at Jerusalem was a rallying-point for the scattered
Jews as well as for the perpetuation of Judaism itself.
The Judsean community was small and of little political
significance ; it was under the guardianship and control
of Persian rulers; this favoured the concentration of
its eneigies on ecclesiastical and theological problems.
The work of restoring t he walls and building the emplo
had to be carried on during many years with feeble
resources and many external hindrances. Prophecy
had to continue its work of comforting the people
(Zoch. 113,17); the preachers found themselves com
pelled to take an interest in church-building and in
ritual. In Haggai, Malachi, and Is. 06-66 we have no
longer the sustained denunciations of the earlier
prophets, nor the pure message of comfort of Deutero-
isaiah, but a form of preaching more like our own,
when denunciation, warning, reasoning, exhortation,
persuasion, and promise are all mingled in one appeal.
In such a book as Malachi there is an approach to an
" academic " style of teaching. We know also, from
the accounts given of the work of Ezra and Nehemiah,
that the Jewisii community was riot established on the

basis of a stricter law and cleansed from what were
regarded as impure elements without fierce struggles.
Tiie regulations against mixed marriages and in favour
of strict Sabbath observance met with strong opposi
tion. The rejection of ail communion with the
Samaritans, and the contempt of some " sons of exile "
for " the people of the land," were also causes of heart
burning and strife. When we seek to treat the .situa
tion sympathetically and in the true historical spirit,
wo recognise that a certain amount of " intolerance "
was inevitable ; but we rejoice that the view of post-
exilic literature, which wo are now compelled to take,
does not allow us to regard Judaism as a company of
ignorant fanatics and bloodthirsty zealots. Jeru
salem could not be sealed from all external influences.
Her children, now beginning to be scattered through
out the world, kept her in touch with the higher life
of the world. Whale the national point of view must
still dominate, certain sides of the religion began to
assume a more universal character. Even the Temple
sacrifices and the priestly ritual, a region in which there
is most danger of formalism, came to express a deeper
sense of sin. of penitence, and national obligation,
Ecclesiastical reformations had gained something in
the way of purity and dignity ; the ritualism of the
later Tom oh; was in its best days free from the sensu-
ii ity and disorder of the earlier festivals.

It is possible for us to indicate special features of
the later period and different times of development,
but again we must remember that these do not exist
in abstract separation, but may be found in various
combinations in the men of action and leaders of
thought. .It is a period of slow organisation, patient,
painful scholarship, and keen reflection. The codifica
tion of ritual laws, the increase of scribal activity with
growing dominance of written authority, the deepening
sense of religious peculiarity and isolation all these
influences tend to check personal initiative and pro
phetic enihiisias.in. Of course, in a living community
whore intelligence has been so highly developed and
utratcd on religious subjects, nothing can com
pletely crush criticism, as may be seen from such
books as Job and Ecclesiastcs, which examine and
partly reject orthodox beliefs, or the books of Jonah
and Ruth, which must now be regarded as a protest
against the militant forms of exciusivcncss. On the
whole, while the period is full of varied life, and wo are
still distant from the wild, unrestrained extravagance
of later apocalypse and the deadness cf stagnant
scholasticism, it. is a time of reflection and reaction
rather than of original creation. But the living move
ment had not ceased ; the difficulties from without
and controversies within, along with the varied efforts
to appreciate and appropriate the great heritage from
the past, prevented any real stagnation. That could
come only when the written text had been finally
fixed and the dogmas of the various schools clearly
defined. In the meantime the living movement goes
on, acquiring complexity and variety, without losing
its central principle of faith in Yahweh as the source
of ail life and the giver of all blessings to His own
people. This needs emphasis : the religion of Israel
never really ceased to be national ; while Yahweh came
to be regarded as God of the world, and hence all
nations were under His control and care, yet their
destiny was fixed by their relation to Israel. Indi
viduals might be converted and come into the true
fold, nations might receive blessings on account of
friendship to Israel, or be destroyed in the great dav
of Israel s victory. Thus the great blessings, if they
were to come to the nations, mu^o conio throt^ li

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

93

Israel. When this is stripped of all sectarian pride
and party passion, it is astonishing how much truth
there is in it ; in other words, how much real missionary
influence was exerted by a system that is supposed
to be hard and exclusive. God Hung the Jews out
into the world, when they were fit to stand alone, to
give and receive influence in the great centres of
civilisation. The contents of the Jewish literature
and the meaning of Jewish life were larger and richer
than the formal creed. The prophetic principles wero
felt to bo a gift of God which could not be monopolised
by one nation. The Servant carries these principles
to the expectant nations (Is. 42.|); the nations flow
towards Jerusalem, because them true teaching and
righteous judgments are given (Is. 21-4); the great
festival in the final days, when the burdens of a sorrow
ful woild are to be removed, will lie " in this moun
tain," but it will be a feast for " all nations " (Is.
256-8). The paradox can be understood only when
we remember that a stream of life is more than insti
tutions and creeds that seek to give it outward ex
pression, and that a great truth will, because of its
greatness, show its broad human significance and its
universal tendency.

Alongside of the Temple, which held a central place
in the life of the people as a place of worship and
a shrine for pilgrims (Pss. 122 84), there was private
personal piety, in which prayers became more promi
nent as an expression of spiritual life and a means of
communion with God (Ps. 44), and there was also
a fuller development of scholastic and educational
work (Pr. 18). The Book of Proverbs is a monument
of Hebrew wisdom compiled and completed in this
period, though it may contain brief oracles and popular
sayings from earlier days. Naturally, on account of
its subject, which deals with the need for discipline
of thought and regulation of conduct, it is unsecf arian,
or, in other words, its contents are, on the whole,
more ethical than theological. Its aim is to insist
upon the need of knowledge and discipline, if a man
is to avoid snares that are set on every hand and attain
to real success in life. Reverence towards parents,
obedience as the first lesson in life, the cultivation of
self-control these are in a general way the forms in
which " the fear of Yahweh " or religion should express
itself, and this is the beginning and foundation of
wisdom. Except the longer passages, containing
personifications "of Wisdom and Folly, this book of
practical philosophy consists mainly of short similes
or terse antithetic proverbs, which "express contempt
for " the fool," the man given to babbling, to greed,
self-indulgence, or excess of any kind, and praise of
" the wiso man," the man who has learned to take care
of himself, to control his temper, rule his household,
and manage his business. There may not appear to
be much idealism, sentiment, or ronfance about this
" philosophy," but it rests upon a pretty solid basis
of " common sense," and claims the whole range of
common life as a sphere for the manifestation of"" the
fear of Yahweh." This is the hard, prosaic side of
life, but it deals with matters that are common to
mankind, and the inclusion of morals, manners, and
etiquette in one comprehensive survey of life suggests
the all-embracing character of the claims of religion.

For the rich variety of theological truth and religious
sentiment which constituted the most precious pos
session of that age we must turn to the Psalter.
It has been called the Hymn-book of the Second
Temple, but it is more than that ; it ia also a prayer-
book of confessions, meditations, and thanksgiving,
which reflects the richest experiences of the individual

as well as the varied worship of the community. For
our present purpose those portions that are strictly
liturgical are of least importance, but even in them tho
large claim of the religion is manifest (117, 149, 150).
The Book of Psalms may bo called secondary literature
in this sense, that it shows us how all the lines of thought
worked out in earlier days are appropriated and turned
into prayer and song. An important proof this,
that the great messages of the prophets have not been
merely the property of a few great thinkers or special
scholars, they have entered into the life of the com
munity. Tho expression of these truths in tho Psalter
popularised them still more, and we need only remember
the frequent reference to it in the NT to find confirma
tion of the belief that here we have a real document
reflecting the higher life of the post-exilic Jewish com
munity. It has been said that in prophecy God speaks
to man, while in the Psalms man speaks to God ; or,
as we may put it, the truths revealed in the past
show that they have left tho realm of speculation and
have entered into the sphere of public worship and
personal devotion. In reading these Psalms, apart
from particular sharp expressions (137g) which shock
us, wo naturally lift them into a Christian atmosphere,
and ignore the local circumstances and party conflicts
out of which they arose, and which, thanks to our
ignorance and the mellowing influence of time, have
now become so dim. Thus the book remains a prayer-
book of humanity and one of Israel s greatest gifta
to men. No complete analysis can be given, but it
is important to recognise the fact that the great truths
which we have seen growing in the past have become
a possession to be used in public worship and private
prayer. When we are engaged in a study of history,
however, it is well for us to remember that what we
have here is not merely selected poems from a few
choice spirits, but a precipitate from the feverish
struggles of a time that has not wisely been called
" four centuries of silence." True, God is also in the
silence, but we have to find Him in the confusion of
opinions and the fierce strife of parties.

In the Psalms Yahweh is Lord of the world, supreme
ruler over all kings and gods (88v-io); He is the
creator and guide of His people (100) ; tho worship of
idols is an absurd thing, only fit subject for con
temptuous ridicule (115; note 17 of this Psalm,
that the triumphant faith is still confined to this
world). The faith in Yahweh is thus firmly estab
lished in the realm of nature (8, 19, 29, 104, etc.), in
history (78, 80, 135), in human conduct, regulated
now by a written law (1, 19, 119). He is the ruler
of the world, and though He is slow to anger and
plenteous in mercy, He will surely punish the wicked,
whether they are heathen oppressors outside or
arrogant apostates within the nation (97, 37). One of
the noblest expressions of this later theology regarding
the greatness and extent of Yahweh s power is Ps. 139,
and even here we have a flaming hatred of " tho
enemies of Yahweh." Tho so-called "penitential
Psalms," and others of similar tone (32, 51, etc.).,
show a deep sense of personal sinfulness, deepened by
the burden of sickness or other afflictions. Here the
theory of sorrow as the result of sin is working in a
wholesome way of self -application begetting penitence.
In other poems (73, etc.) this theory is faced as a problem
from the point of view of its application to life, in the
spirit of the struggles of Job. Wo may say, then, that
all possible religious beliefs and moods of that time
find expression here. They cannot be harmonised
into one system ; they express a many-sided life.
Running through all there is the conviction that the

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

94

Israelites arc a peculiar people, who have inherited a
noble tradition and who stand m a .special relationship
to tho God of the world. This God is to bo worshipped
end honoured in tho services of the Temple and by the
diligent student of Mis Law. Ho is a righteous God,
not" only in the sense that He regards moral distinc
tions but also that He will keep His covenant and
defend His people, thus causing righteousness t
be vindicated on the stage of the world s history.
" Pious," " poor," " meek " are beginning, in some
places to moan almost the same thing, and the hope
is cherished that the " meek shall inherit the earth
when tho judgment comes which will overthrow tuo
ariocant, faithless Jows as well as tho proud heathen
oppressors. The Median c hope finds clear if not
froqu Mit expression, and probably many phrases that
have for us lost their esohatological flavour originally
possessed it. There is not much movement in the
direction of the belief in personal immortality ; we
may find a suegostion of it m 73, but even this is not
generally accepted. Wo must say that in the actual
period of Hebrew religion the hopes conceiving the
future continued to have a national point of view
which was not largely displaced by the more personal
hone The continuance in life or the resurrection of
the individual was a liolief held iu connexion with
the hopes of a final and complete redemption of the
notion, under tho reign of the Messianic King (72).
Thus, beginning at a point about a thousand years
earlier than the present period, \ve found a few tribes
with loose organisation and a simple faith in Yahweh
as their God! We have seen the building up out of
this material into two kingdoms, which alter a brief
fitful existence were di-;troycd, to be replaced by a
Church community in Jnuia with an elaborate ecclesi
astical organisation and a largo body of theological
beliefs. The thing that grew through all the political
and civil changes of a millennium was the religious
faith and theological thought. The earlier revelations
were received in and through the actual political
conflicts of the time ; in later days theology became
for a while the chief business of tho nation.

Tho Significance of the Maeeabean Period. This
small nation was called to fight for its existence and
its faith iu the early years of tho second century B.C.,
and the result showed that a positive dogmatic faith
had power to inspire heroic zeal and lead " the
saints " to victory. In the preceding century the
Jews in tho Greek colony of Alexandria in Egypt had
grown in numbers and influence. The translation of
the Law into Greek helped to keep the dispersed
Israelites faithful to Judaism, while the commerce and
communion of the scattered Jews with Jerusalem
helped to keep alive the intellectual life of the home
land. Greek influence of a direct kind may not be
proved in the case of the Books of Job and Ecolesiastes,
but it is clear that the Jews have oome to have some
thing of the Greek spirit in their method and stylo of
dealing with weighty problems. Their contribution is
theology, not philosophy, as they seek to work always
from the thought of God out to the details of thought
and life. They do not analyse things and tho mind
in the same way as tho Greeks, but in their own way
they are seeking to link all things to a central principle,
and they are becoming more critical in temper. The
writer of Job attacks the common dogma of sin and
retribution which pervaded all the theology of his
time. The prophetic message had been taken so much
to heart that the thought of "sin had become the
central thing in Jewish theology. The belief in a
reasonable retribution, ethical in its character, was an

advance on the idea of capricious, arbitrary action of
gods or demons, but it became too systematic, or, m
other words, too simple. Men in many ages have made
large sacrifices to a narrow, severe logic and a vain
craving for uniformity in religious thought and prac
tice. Against this the great poet protests ; more than
any particular solution of the problem suggested by
the various statements in the Book of Job is the spirit
of the great speeches and the demand for full expression
of tho soul even in the presence of God. " Sin " is
not every tiling, man is not the centre of the world ; the
mighty Creator is just, though His ways may perplex
us. Man may come to silence in the presence cf
God s majesty, but he must not be crushed by ;.
wooden, mechanical system in which men attempt t
confine their thoughts of God. This is not scepticism.
it is simply a more robust faith. The writer 01
Ecolesiastes goes much further in the direction ot
scepticism, and the ground tons of the book is pessi
mistic. Ho is a man who cannot find escape from
perplexity and disappointment along either of the two
avenues "that have been opened ; ho deliberately
rejects the thought of personal immortality and pays
no attention to "tho national hopes. Not in such a
t emper as this could the great battles have been fought.
\Ve are now simply concerned to show that in the period
immediately preceding the Maocabean revolt there wa.=
much reflection on religious problems, and that in
some cases faith was " sicklied o er with the pale cast
of thought." When the nation passed from the rule
of the Ptolemies to that of Syria, little dreaming oi
the terrible trouble to come from that quarter, Greek
culture must have already exerted a powerful if subtle
influence on its religious life. Some think that " the
Greek peril " would have been still greater if it had
been allowed to pursue its peaceful way. When
Antiochua Epiphanes attempted brutally to crusu
,:>.;; la ism and substitute his bastard Hellenism, two
i iiings wore revealed the extent to which Gree:;
influence had already gone, and the terrible strength
and tenacity of those who adhered to the Lav/. Men
died rather than break the Sabbath or pollute them
selves with unclean food ; the nation might be cant
into the lion s den or the fiory furnace, but it would
not worship tho idols that this mad king had set up (see
the Book of Daniel). Tho standard of revolt was raised,
and the first, battles for religious freedom were fought.
Tho story must be read elsewhere (pp. 607f.), but it
religions significance must be noted here. The real
strength and heroism was inspired by passionate love
for the Scriptures and scrupulous respect for the Law.
When the latent military strength had been revealed,
and liberty of worship secured, the pious party, the
Chaaidim," forerunners of the later Pharisees, were
ready to return to the peaceful pursuit of religion.
They were willing to accept a high priest of the legiti
mate line, notwithstanding his alliance with tho Greek
party and the Syrian kingdom. Again they had to
surfer for their blind literalism, but clung to their ideal
of an unworldly kingdom of Yahweh. The movement
inevitably enlarged itself into a struggle for complete
political independence, and under the Maccabean
family Judah enjoyed a brief period of military success
and national splendour. The political power and
official influence thus passed into the hands of the
priests and their adherents, who later were the Saddu-
cees of NT times. They were Jews, but were less scru
pulous in their religious conduct, and had little zeal for
the doctrine of the resurrection and the Messianic
kingdom. Tho stricter believers, who gave their
energy to the study of theology, to the elaboration

THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL

95

and observance of the written Law and preparation
for the coming Kingdom of God, were regarded by the
people as the custodians of the best religious tradi
tions, and had a powerful influence on the life of the
State. Thus it may be seen that, when the noblest
theology had been developed, touched with something
of the prophetic spirit, making universal claims, and
even offering something of its beat life to other nation.;,
there was manifested the fanatical, fierce hatred
against the foreigner that may bo seen in the books of
Esther and Judith. The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of
Sirach belongs to a different school, and shows the
essential Jewish thought in a more sober, " moderate "
mood. The Judaism, then, that wo find in the two
centuries immediately preceding the coming of our
Lord was anything but a simple sect ; it was, as the
product of many ages and varied influences, exceedingly
complex, and not completely dominated by any one
shade of thought. Some were content with a Judaism
that could be adapted to present conditions ; others
were waiting and working for " the consolation of
Israel, 5 believing that Yahweh would bring it in His
own time ; others were in a fever of discontent, pre
pared to fight for the new kingdom.

What we have been able to give in this short article
is a slight sketch, a mere outline ; it needs to be filled
in^by a study of the history in detail and the many-
sided literature. But surely there is before us the fact
of a living movement, an organic development. Wo
have had to recognise a real relation between the re
ligion and the soil on which it came to maturity. The
luxuriant growth of the later apocalyptic literature
also shows that, when the creative impulse ceased,
there was much extravagant mechanical borrowing
that produced a chaotic mass of undigested material
But the real religion, whose course wo have been
studying, appropriated facts and ideas from other
sources in such a way as to subject them to its own
central principles. Wonders credited by tradition to
Babylonian gods or Palestinian Baals it could claim
for Yahweh, and thus work out a practical, and to a
large extent a theoretical, monotheism, which, though
never quite freed from national associations, prepared
the way for the Christian doctrine of God, who is
Spirit, and who in His Son manifests love to the whole
world. The real antithesis between the OT and the
NT is not that of Law in contrast to Gospel. The
apostle Paul saw that Law, in the strict sense, came in
as a preparation for a fuller manifestation of the faith
that had inspired the lives of ancient saints (Gal.
3i8f.). It is that the NT, while preserving the idea
of a Kingdom of God, was less national and brought
a richer personal experience. But in all the important
stages of OT theology there were real " evangelical "
elements.

The healthy growth may be seen in all the great
ideas of OT theology. In dealing with the idea of
God it is no longer advisable merely to choose texts
at random from the whole area of the literature. Wo
must recognise that the presentation given in Deutero-
leaiah or Ps. 139 could not have appeared in that form
in the earlier phases of the movement, and that the
first chapter of Genesis, though based upon earlier
material, offers a transcendent view of Gcdthat belongs
nearer to the close than the beginning of the revelation.
We know that, while the Hebrews must have possessed
a certain amount of the speculative gift that was de
veloped so highly in the Greeks, the real motive of tho
progress is to be sought in the personal spiritual life
of their great teachers. The proof that their thought
of God was living is in the fact that it could grow to

moot new needs. Wo use the name " Yahweh " instead
of the conventional name " Lord," because it is a more
correct rendering of the original, and reminds us that
we are^dealing with the name of a personal national
Lord " has become colourless, so far as
national associations are concerned ; if it means any
thing to us, it must mean the Ruler of tho whole uni
verse, the source of all law and life. To use this title
in OT passages may lead 113 to forget tho centuries
of toil, prayer, and thought by which the way was
prepared for our lofty and somewhat abstract concep
tion. In OT times Yahweh ever remained the God
of Israel, and men had to learn to recognise Him aa
tho God of righteousness, of history, and of the par
ticular manifestations and products of nature before
they could claim for Him, in the fullest sense, tho
supreme position as God of the whole earth. Hence,
while angels and spirits appear in the earlier literature
it is in an unsystematic fashion; Yahweh is not
only supreme within His kingdom, bub liia action is
direct, immediate (cf. the Yahweh-Elohim of Gen. 2f.
with the Elohim of 1, also the two different statements
regarding the same events in 2 S. 24i and 1 Ch. 21 1).
We do not attempt to smooth all these differences
that give individuality to the different accounts, but
rather rejoice in the tense of historical perspective
that they help u:j to acquire. The gods of other
nations are at one time rival deities belonging to rival
tribes; later they become " idols," and even the great
heavenly bodies worshipped by the Babylonians are
claimed as creatures of Yahweh (Is. 4026). These
finally become mere lamps for the service c f man, and
specially to regulate his religious festivals (Gen. 1).
The idols then become simple images, things that
man has made and to which it is foolish to attach any
Divine significance. The " gods " have passed away
rom them and become " angels >; or " demons," to
whom Yahweh allows a limited sphere of service.
This is different from the hard monotheism of Moham
medanism, which is more suitable to the bareness of
the desert than a rich, complex social life. We can
never go back to Moses or back to Christ in any
narrow, mechanical way, because from the OT as well
as from the NT we have inherited a religion which
claims the right to gvow and to baptize new thing.!,
when they have proved their reality, with the old
sacred name.

Such development can also be recognised in con
nexion with an idea that must be central in any living
conception of true religion, that of sacrifice. Whether
the original idea was that of a gift to the God to win
His favour, or of communion through a common
meal shared by the worshippers and the deity, we must
not attempt to settle ; it is possible that both thoughts
might become blended in the one transaction. Traces
of these views in their more primitive form may still
be found (Gen. 4i 4 , 821; Ex. 24 10). It is certain
that the popular view in the eighth century was that
sacrifice was a means of gaining Yahweh : s favour and
so making worshippers secure against their foes. Tho
prophets set in opposition to this the demand for an
intelligent obedience to Yahwcii s righteous claima.
He desires " mercy and not sacrifice/ " Obedience
is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat
of rarns. ; Yet the idea of sacrifice permeates all
life ; the captive in war and tho criminal offender are
slain in some sense as a sacrifice. The higher pro
phetic teaching turns away from the coarse ritual to
the ordinary activities of life, which bring opportunities
of real service. U was not directly concerned with
theories as to which was the most effective form of

96

THE RELICKON OF ISRAEL

form

viz.

that

to one
fflled

praise

some treated it as symbolic
to ,*=. it in 7
central sanctuary, it Leit a large P ldw
by the more intellectual exercises

, and the reading of J ho Book.

pray

HH! in its lifo the demands of Israel s God In
drv" outside influences might heir, m tins direc-
eseeiaU when tho sense of communion h

S^ ta tjtA1^^^^

rnmeassigns to them, Yahweh must contro 1 the
fo?e on nations, and either destroy them or cause them
S acknowledge His supremacy and holiness An
important passage such aa Is. 22-4, Mi. 4i-4, be

i ditleient though as to time a parallel, strain of
thouc h and is related to the spirit of Deutoro- Isaiah.
The larlv post-exilic prophets, Haggai and Zechanan,
took Sard with pathetic longing to a speedy con
vulsion, to be followed by a reign of peace and pros
perity for Jerusalem (Hag. 2 Zech 2). In a loose
fvhibn all r.ass^es are called Messianic tnat
prornse and \iescnbe tins time of blessedness when
the meek shall inherit the earth ; but m uie
strictest sense only such passages should bear that
name which set forth the ideal King as a mediator
between Yahv.-oh and His people. Ihe ^^"Vj
* branch of the subject is complicated by Mie an
nco of opinion among scholars as to toe co leouvo
individual interpolation oi the Servant pa*-
. V in Deutero Isaiah and the phrase bon of
:, in Daniel. It is difficult, with our views oa

that u expressed m Job .1.. . ... - - - the b faith

ToT :

1,/XK ,

consummation seemed to be near at

do tho conclusion tht
the earliest

had to come face to face with a lar

. LiU ln-vvi -ii, ...^,. - . , j,

[r -,., given toJudali and David had received uicu
linal fmfilment, and they looked forward to a more ^
f.iliihnent of Yahweh s ancient promises
believe in a fixed time, winch man s work >uld norther
hasten nor hinder ; others raignt regard patient
>E tho Law or militant enterprise as the real piq)cua-
tion In one son* there was pessimism, despair o,
?e present order of things ; hi another sense theio
n .:. feith in an overruling Providence and tho ncn
"ssibU ties of the future. Tho present ruler mighv,
b?invested whh Messianic attributes, or there raignt

expectation of a supernatural being coming with

^~^

Snc^ ]^S Th" point fofus now ?SS later
Tudai ? sm to spite of the variety of views and mingling
of Sge eents, stands at the close of our review
I !n attitude oi expectation, and so remams true to
the Lward look which is the characteristic of genuine

tie exaltation of the Jews. Ihere are

rcvoun ttat w. ha go
r TO Lw recall to mind that when the Israelites
to came So tho light of tetory they jve a group
of nomad cln a with religion like thut of other

ntroduce the worship of the P

THE RELIGION OF ISEAEL

97

reaction under the powerful personality of Elijah.
The prophetic party thus beginning its career was
prompted by a desire for social justice) as well as for
religious simplicity. In some centuries of conflict this
party clarified its aims and at lust preached an ethical
monotheism for Israel. This monotheism would not
have triumphed (humanly speaking) had it not been
for the Exile. In the Exile people found the bond
which held them together to be that of religion. They
therefore became a Church rather than a nation,
conscious of possessing a unique treasure in the tradi
tions of Moses and the prophets, carefully avoiding
amalgamation with those of different faith " (The
Religion of Israel, by Dr. H. P. Smith, p. 350).

There remained, then, (1) a nation or community
that, because of this religious discipline, was able to
maintain its separate existence when the Temple was
destroyed and the land laid desolate. For some time
the main interests of the most zealous adherents of the
faith had been religious rather than political, and when
the fanatical resistance to foreign oppression was in
vain the faith of the religious community survived.
The Jews took their place in the world of commerce,
and gave their attention to the transmission of the
traditions and the observances of the written law, so
far as that was possible without the Temple ceremonial.
They expanded and arranged tho traditions. The
synagogue became a permanent institution. Scholastic
theologians, sober scribes, mystical thinkers, fanatical
visionaries all played their part. The strength and
persistence of the Jewish Church, in spite of centuries
of persecution and hatred, is one of the wonders of
history ; but its creative period closed and its great
religious contribution was made before the beginning
of the Christian era. (2) There remained also a book
which the Jew has not been able to monopolise. It
was translated into Greek about two centuries before
the coming of our Lord, and now, mainly through the
influence of tho Christian Church, it speaks in practi
cally all the languages of the world. Under the influ

ence of theological scholasticism it was handled in a
hard, dogmatic sense as mere " revelation " ; bat now
" Tho Bible as Literature " is a fruitful theme, and the
fuller appreciation of historical perspective and real
development gives it a freshness and power as a revela
tion of God s education of the world. As wo see the
great movement pass from stage to stage, we are
conscious of a " Power not of ourselves," and cry,
" It is Yahweh s doing, and is marvellous in our eyes."
" It shall be to Yahweh for a name, for an everlasting
sign that shall not be cut off."

Bibliography. Students of this subject are indebted
to the works, in Gorman, of Stade, Smend, Duhrn,
Marti, Baethgen, Gunkel, Sellin, Bertholet, and others.
The following is a brief list of books in English which
are of comparatively recent date : A. S. Peake, The
Religion of Israel ; W. Robertson Smith, The R lirjion
of the Semites, The Prophets of Israel ; Kuenen, Uibbcrt
Lectures ; Montefiore Hibbert Lectures ; E. Day, The
Social Life of the Hebrews ; S. I. Curtiss, Primitive
Semitic Religion To-day ; A. Duff, The Theology and
Ethics of the Hebrews ; A. S. Peake, The Problem of
buffering in the OT ; R. L. Ottley, The Religion of
Israel ; J. Robertson, The Early Religion of Israel ;
T. K. Cheyne, Jewish Religious Life after the E.rile ;
W. E. Orchard, The Evolution of OT Religion ; W. E.
Addis, Hebrew Religion to the Establishment of Judaism
under Ezra ; K. Budde, Religion of Israel to the Exile ;
J. C. Todd, Politics and Religion in Ancient Israel ;
L. B. Paton, The Early Religion of Israel ; K. Marti,
The Religion of the T ; A. Loisy, The Religion of
Israel ; W. H. Bennett. The Religion of the Post-
Exilic Prophets ; W. G. Jordan, Prophetic Ideas and
Ideals ; H. P. Smith, The Religion of Israel ; E.
Kaut/sch, The Religion of Israel (HDB, vol. v.) ; H.
Wheeler Robinson, The Religioiis Ideas of the OT ;
.1. P. Peters, The Religion of the Hebrews ; A. C.
Welch, The Religion of Israel under the Kingdom;
A. Nairne, The Faith of the OT. See further the
section on OT Theology in the General Bibliographies.

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

BY Dr.. OWEN 0. WHITEHOUSE

1. Inir-cdueiory. -In dealing \vith the religious
institutions of Israel (as of any nation) tv.o principles
have to be understood and applied by the student:
(a) the principle of growth, (h) the principle of tHrijwi-
mcnl as modifying the forms of growtn. (Mh<
principle of growth simply means that all in-:ti
grow from simpler to more complex forms. Thi
relic-ions institutions of Israel in the days of .
and" the earlier rulers, called "Judges, a
same as they subsequently became M -iines

at the close of the Hi : iuumg

of the sixth century u.t .). Ai

the post-exilian period we note some remarkable
developments. ( wuas

that Israel s life and ,.tions which embodie

it wero necessarily irrouudinjp.

Yv o note this pre-eminently in t\ o \vaj i: (i) n the
earliest stage- of the poop] oy were mauny

nontmU. After the invus;>

themselves more and more to fixed abodes and 1
agricultural, and also in course oi. time town-d
engaged to an me;. ;ree in such oc<

and crafts as buildinir, \veav ing, poUery, and uiota
work, (ii) They were surrounded by other aim
kindred peoples, speaking the same o simUa

lantfuao-c, some o; :.!u-m more highly civilised, by whom
they were profoundly influenced. Not only \y. ro tJ
affected by th,- anite populations, but

also these and the H< -brews themselves received t!
powerful impress .-.f
traditions which spread over V,

the days of Abraham, and ev< n I into. kgyp

(about 1400 B.C.). As we might expect, dining
days of the Exile (587-53(5 B.C.) this influence became
soecially marked, later still (< .c.) we shouk

note the influence exerted by /

had passed away and the Jews became a churca
nation subject to the i en i in kin?, ivii i a large popu
lation scattered in E And las:
of all after Alexanders con

influenced Jewish life and thought (summed up m the
term Hellenism ; see Schurer s/J " 1 >P)-

Note also (under this h.-ail of environment) the
aeon fa-Meal factor. Palestine is the only praetica
because comparatively well-watered, highway and
caravan track of iiitereouroe between ?
NE. (Assyria) and S. (Arabia), as well as !
It was therefore specially exposed by land i
influences.

It is impossible within our limits to do more than
very briefly indicate the external influences whicl
God s providence were destined to mould the i
tutions of Judaism. But they will serve
studies of the reader in his further pursu
subject and its related branches.

2. Israel s Primitive Religion and Subsequent De
velopment: the High Place, the Sacred Pillar, and

Saerifies. Israel was one of a small group of Semitic
peoples living adjacent to one another in Western
Asia, and so inherited in its earliest institutions a
common stock of Semitic tradition. Religion in its
beginnings is intensely social. The clan (miahpahali)
rather than the family was the unit of early Semitic
society, and ivlitdon might be called the vital cement
which bound the individual members of the clan hifco
a livin-r whole. In the earliest days of Israel s nomadic
existence the elans were migratory, as among the
Bedouin of the present time. But after the settlement
in Canaan the elan became local, and religious ritee
c-une to be attached to some neighbouring " high place "
or sanctuary, where the essential element was the
rude upright" stone (or stone heap) under the open sky.
Examples of such stones may still be found in large
numbers, especially on the E. side of the Jordan, liu-
flebrcw name for this was massebhah (Arab. _*&),
meaning something which is set upright. This was
the stone symbol of the Divine presence held to be
incorporate in it (see " Pillar " in HDB, p. 870", footn.).
In the primitive days of nomadic life the sacrifice
consisted of the bloody offering of the slaughtered ox,
sheep, or goat. This was called zebah ; but as agri
cultural occupations came to prevail during Israel s
settled life in Canaan, vegetable offerings, whether of
oil meal, or cakes, would also be offered. !
:i iore especially in post-exilian times, these
or meal offerings were designated by a special
-minhah, meaning " gift " ; but m earlier time,
this term was used of both animal and vegetable o

j n ,, a t , 7 . of Abel s more primitive animal offering,

ami of Cain s vegetable offering, representing a higher
ui-ade of civilisation (Gen. 43-5 J). Tll bloou or vn "
oil (Gen. 28i8) would be smeared or poured upon the
upright stone. Thus sacrifice was an essential pait
of worship, and often consisted of the firstborn of
h-rds and" flocks or the firstfruits of the earth brought
PS an offeriim to God. In its most primitive form it
was in reality a feast of communion, in winch all the
participating members partook as well as the present
deity who were thus bound together by a sacred bond
of fellowship. Sacrifice viewed in this aspect, as rc-
newincr the life-bond and binding the participants in
friendship with God, was expressed by the special
name *helem, which the LXX probably renders cor
rectly bv " ^eace offering." Such an offering might
be presented 1 in discharge of a vow (Pr. 7u ;, and a
certain portion was consumed by the worshipper at
hi-, home. But probably this practice grew up later,
after the suppression of the local sanctuaries (521 B.C.).
In the most primitive form of worship the stone
served as altar and Divine symbol in one, but after
wards a separate raised stone platform, with hollows
for the reception of the blood, was used as the place
of sacrifice or altar (mizbeah), and later still the upright
stone was carved into some aha^o, human or auumu.

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

99

to represent the deity. Bub this was forbidden in
the Decalogue (Ex. 204), and in tho Deuteronomio
legislation tho pillar-cult itself (nutssebhah) is proscribed
as hateful to Yamveh (Dt. I6z2).

Since the sacrifice was virtually a sacred meal, the
materials of sacrifice were those which formed man s
daily food, but were in their sacrificial relation called
by the generic name " food of God," an old phrase
which survived in later legislation, such as Lev. 3n,

216,8,22.

At a fairly early period there a.rcso the custom of
consuming the offering by fire. Tho burnt offering
( olah, kdlil) may have sprung from the felt need of
destroying all forms of decay, as Robertson Smith
suggests (RS 2 , 387), but other and primitive anthropo
morphic notions may have contributed to this result
(RS 2 , pp. 230, 371, Ex. 29i8, Lev. 19,13,17, Gen. 821,
with which wo may compare the B:ib. Hood-story in
the Gi gamesh epic, Tablet 11, lines IGOff.).

The earlier narratives of tho OT present us with
several examples of this sacrificial meal (1 S. 9i2f.,
22-24, Jg- 618-21). Covenants were ratified by sacri
fice in which the deity was present and witnessed tho
solemn contract (Gen. 8151-54), and tho contracting
parties walked between the severed portions of tho
victim (Gen. 15io,i7*, Jer. 34iS ; see Peakc s note in
Cent.B.).

In very early times sacrifice undoubtedly expressed
tho idea of propitiation, as well as communion. In
times of distress or calamity sacrifice was the means
employed of appeasing the deity to who. -se anger the
calamity was ascribed, and of disposing him to friendli
ness. In the later times that followed the period of tho
Assyrian invasions (740-700 B.C.), and especially in
the days of the Exile and after, sacrifice became to
an increasing degree propitiatory, or was intended to
remove some taint or uncleanness of tho nature of
tabu, or atone for some ritual oversight or neglect.
Of sacrificial offerings destined for this purpose many
examples may be found in tho rules laid down in
Lev. 1 7, 11-15 respecting the " .sin offerings " or
" guilt offerings " to be brought to the priest.

Though these prescriptions are collected together in
tho codes of legislation embodied in thu later post-
exilian document P, it is generally recognised that many
of these rules are of much older origin than tho exiliaii
or post-exilian period. It may be remarked here that
nearly all the sins or trespasses (in some cases diseases
such as leprosy, or uncleanness due to childbirth)
specified in these chapters are of a non-ethical char
acter. Only rarely, as in Lev. 61-7, are tho sins
actually ethical transgressions. Tho sense of ethical
sin was mainly developed in the national consciousness
by the teaching of the prophets. Many of the deepest
thinkers then came to feel that sacrifice was an in
adequate remedy. Only righteous conduct could
really atone (Is. In-i7 ; Am. 621-24; Mi. 66-8;
Ps. 50, 51 16-17). Respecting sacrifice in detail, see
" Sacrifice " in HDB, HSDB, and EBi, also Intro,
to and commentary on Lev. Sacrificial offerings were,
in fact, of the most varied kinds, some of which
seem to have passed into disuse. Thus in 1 S. 76,
2S. 23i6 (cf. 1 K. 1833-35, Jos. 927), we have allusions
to water offerings on special occ^ions, while in 2 S.
619, Hos. 3i*, reference is made to raisin cakes ( dslii-
shah). These remind ua of the cakes or wafers made
from dough offered to " Ashtoreth, queen of heaven "
(called kawwari), to which Jeremiah alludes (718*).
This is illustrated by an interesting Phoenician inscrip
tion found in Cyprus, which contains a list of expenses
for the month Ethanim ( Tishri) : " For the architects

who have built tho temple of Ashtoreth . . . for two
sacrifices . . . for two bakers who have baked the
cakes for tho holy queen." In fact, many of the sacri
ficial details, and even some- names of the Hebrew
sacrifices, may be found in Phoenician inscriptions,
such as the Marseilles tahlo of sacrificial dues.

In the pre-oxiiian pcrisxl of Israel s national lifo
sacrifices were oifercd at all the important crises of
life in which the nation s God was held to participate.
Especially was this true of u-ar, when God became the
leader of Israel s armies and His will was sought.
Hero Israel followed ordinary Semitic custom. War
was inaugurated by sacrifice (Jg. 620,26, 2026 ; 1 S.
7o, 1391.). This was said to " consecrate war "
(Mi. 35, Jcr. 64 ; cf. Jos. 85), and the warriors wero
placed under ascetic restrictions, as of sexual absti
nence (see " War," EBi, 2). Here we touch upoa
primitive savage customs, of which tho darkest aspect
in expressed in the Hobrew-Canaanite term hcrem,
or sacred baa of destruction, which involved in its
dire scopo everything, inanimate or animate, captured
in war, including human beings aa well as cattle
(Dt. 234*, Jos. 617". 826, 1028,37; 1 S. 153f., p. 114).
Tho samo custom prevailed among tho Moabites, aa
the Stone of Mosha testifies (line 17). Deuteronomio
legislation tended slightly to mitigate its harshness

(nt. 72, 2013-17).

Another of tho darker aspects of sacrifice belonging
to tho primitive period of Canaanite and Hebrew life
was infant sacrifice (p. 83), to which wo have an allusion
iu one of tho earliest codes (Ex. 22zgL), where it is
enacted that tho human firstborn as well as of oxen
and flocks are to bo offered to Yaliweh. There was
an ancient superstition that buildings wero safe
guarded by human sacrifice (Tylor, Primitive Culture, 3
i. p. l(>4i .), and we havo confirmation of this custom
in the discovery of child-victims walled up in the ruins
laid bare in Ge/.er and Mogiddo (pee Driver, Mchweich
Lect., pp. 60-92), and it probably underlies the story
of Hicland his children (Jos. 626*, 1 K. 1634*). [Tiiun-
bull s Threshold (Jovcnanl, pp. 4557, may be con
sulted. For a modern story with this motif, see
Grant Allen s Wolverden Tmver. A. S. P.] In Ex.
3420 J (cf. Dt. loig) we soe that an animal came to
be substituted for the human victim (cf. Gen. 2213).
But human sacrifices continued to prevail in Israel,
as Jg. 1130-35, 2 K. I(i3, 23io. and the allusions in
Mi. 67, Jer. 731, Eze-k. 2026 clearly prove. It was for
bidden in Dt. ISio. Tithes (Nu. 1821-24*) were a form
of sacrificial offering. In 1 S. 815,17 wo read that the
king used to claim, his tithings of cornfield, orchard, and
flocks. It is probable that Israelite sanctuaries made
a similar claim for tho maintenance of tho priesthood,
and it is perhaps in this sense that wo should interpret
the reference to the " firstfruits " (rfahilh) or the firstlings
of the soil (Nu. 1813*) that aro to be brought to God s
house according to one of tho oldest codes (Ex. 3426).
But we have a definite reference to tho tithe offering
in Am. 44 and Gen. 2822 (E), both of which prove that
tithes wore actually paid in the eighth century (and
probably earlier) to the northern sanctuary of Bethel.
This custom became embodied in tho subsequent legis
lation (Dt. 1422-29, Lev. 2730-33 ; cf. Mai. 3s,io).

Under tho head of sacrifice wo may include the rite of
circumcision (p. 83, Gen. 17*), which was a sacred initia
tory ceremony, a species of blood-offering (cf. Ex. 424-
26), analogous to the offerings of hair customary among
Syrians (RS 2 , p. 327f.). From Herod, ii. 104 wo learn
that the rite was practised by Phoenicians, Hittites,
Ethiopians, aa well as Egyptians ; and in reference
to the Egyptians this is confirmed by a very ancient

100

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

wall-painting, in which is depicted the surgical opera
tion as performed on adolescent youths with "flint
implements. There are vaiious indications, such as
tho Hebrew name for " father-in-law " and " son-in-
law " (bride-groom) and Gen. 3422-25, which sliow
that among tho early Semites it was a rite initiatory
to marriage, but among the Hebrews in inter times it
was an obligatory national covenant rite practised on
tho male infant on the eighth day after birth (Lev.
123 P), though the earlier custom is clearly recognised
in Gen. 1725 (P), where it is stated that Ishmaol was
thirteen when ho was circumcised. From Jer. 926
wo learn that it was practised not only in Judah and
Egypt, but also in Moab, Ammon, Edom. and certain
Arab tribes. Indeed, " uncircumcision " was quite
exceptional, and became a term of reproach addressed
to the Philistines, who were a non-Semitic people.

In later times sacrifices became more elaborate in
character ; offerings of incf n<e in earlier times probably
meant only the smoke and fragrance of burning meal
or fatty portions of flesh, but in the eighth and follow
ing centuries, if not earlier, the Hebrews had learned
to compound ihe fragrant resins and spices from Arabia
and Syria. This we might infer from the altar of
incenso discovered by Sellin at Tnanach (Ta annek).
On the other hand, the language of Jcr. <>2o seems to
imply that the use of thesi- ingredients in Hebrew
sanctuaries was regarded as a foreign innovation
(</. ~ K. IGio-i.s), like chariots and horses (i)t. 17i6,
Ps. 20;). Probably contact with Babylon and its
more- elaborate forms of worship during the Exile
partly dispelled these conservative si-ruplos. The
post-exilian legislation of P (Ex. 3034-38) contains
the specific rules for the preparation of the incense,
whicli appears, however, to have differed in some degree
from the foreign (r/. 9).

The restriction of sacrifice to the central sanctuary
in Jerusalem (Dt. 12.-sf. ; 165-7,11,16) in tho legis
lation of 021 B.C., presupposed in later codes (P),
tended to reduce seriously tho opportunities of sacri
fice, especially to tho increasing numbers of the .Jewish
Diaspora (the Dispersion). The worship of the syna
gogue, which involved singing and prayer and tho
reading of the Law and Prophets, then took the place
of sacrificial worship. After the destruction of tho
Temple, when the Roman armies under Titus captured
Jerusalem (A.D. 70), and after the .Jews were expelled
from the city in A.r>. 13"), synagogue-worship remained
the sole mode of public religious service, while of animal
sacrificial offerings only lh annual paschal lamb of
each Jewish household survived, and still survives,
and a curious cock or hen sacrifice described in
Oestcrley and Box, Religion and Worship, pp. 416f.

3. Accompaniments of the Primitive Sanctuary and
Worship. Prominent among these, and frequently de
picted on Phosnician and Babylonian monuments, was
the sacred pole (Dt. 7s* 1 K. 15i3*), symbol of fertility,
which represented the goddess Asherah (mistranslated
" grove " in AV, distinct from, though sometimes con
founded with, " Ashtoreth "). The pole probably origi
nated from the sacred tree, the familiar accompaniment
holy places among Semitic peoples. Frequently it
was a palm-tree, as in Jg. 45 (palm-tree of Deborah),
especially in Babylonia and Arabia (where the palm-
tree is so much used in supplying food for the suste
nance of life), but in Israel it was most frequent!} 7 the
terebinth, e.g. the soothsayer s terebinth in Gen. 126,
Jg. 037. While special mention is made of the sacred
terebinth in Jg. 4u and 611, other trees are sometimes
referred to, as the pomegranate and tamarisk, oak and
poplar. Both the latter are specially mentioned in

Hos. 413 as tho accompaniments of the sanctuaries
on the hills, which came under prophetic condemna
tion, since the cult of these " high places " so closely
approximated to the Canaanite worship. Hence,
when we come to the reformation of Josiah s reign,
whoso principles were embodied in the Deuteronomic
code and the Deuteronomically redacted Books of
Kings, we find theso elements suppressed (Dt. 1221)
and condemned (2 K. ] 79-18).

We find also many allusions to sacred spring* (Xu.
19r-22*),and those sometimes give their names to places
such as Beer-sheba (well of seven), En- Hand (spring of
Harod, Jg. 7i), En-hakkore (Jg. IDIQ*, " spring of him
who calls (on God) "j. Hagar s spring was called
" Well of tho Living One who sees me " (Gen. 1614).
Neither prophecy nor law could take exception to so
si?nple and beautiful an expression of the pure, life-
sustaining power of God, as it did to such man-made
things as the Asherah-poln and the mnssSblmli. Henco
we read, in one of the noblest passages of Ezekiel
(47i-i2), of the river flowing out of God s sanctuary,
whicli deepens as it Hows in its life-giving course
(c.f. Ps. 464, Is. 86). Tho river appears again in the
last vision of the Apocalypse (Rev. 22rf ). We are
also reminded of tho symbolic use made by Jesus
(Jn. 44) of Jacob s well.

To the earlier life of the Hebrews belong tho epliod
and teraphim, the precise nature of which has been
much discussed. Tho ephod used in, divination by tho
priest must bo carefully distinguished from the ~linen
(/,!> > , worn by the priest, e.g. tho boy Samuel (1 8.
2icS), and by David when he danced before Yahweh
(2 S. (i i j ). The former ephod was not worn but carried.
That it was a sacred object representing deity is clear
from the significant passage (Jg. 824-27), in which
we are told that Gideon made an ophod of the golden
earrings, crescents, pendants, etc. These were evi
dently melted down, and formed a metal covering
around a wooden stock or base ; and we read, more
over, that it became an object of superstitious worship.
In tho sanctuary at iNob the ephod had its recognised
place, and Goliath s sword was placed behind it,
probably as a dedicated trophy (1 S. 21g). In war
thy priest-soothsayer accompanied the expedition,
and carried with him the cphod-image, in the presence
of which lots were cast, sacrifice having been previ
ously offered to the deity, who gave authority to the
answer by divinations through lots. The ephod thus
formed one essential part of this mechanical apparatus
of inquiry ; another essential part was the sacred
lot, whicli consisted of wooden rods ( Hos. 4ia) or arrows
(Ezek. 2l2i). Apparently the answer was determined
by the particular way in which the rod or arrow fell.

The Jot probably had the effect of an alternative,
chiefly " yes " or " no." This explains how slowly n
reply involving definite details came to hand, since
successive operations of the sacred lot were required.
So slow was the process that Saul was compelled to
put an end to it in the stress of battle (1 S. 14ig).
Sometimes the results were ambiguous. Yahweh gave
no answer (36-38). 1 S. 23g-i2 gives a clear illus
tration of the detailed process of question and reply.

Equally if not more obscure is the nature of the finm
and lumnthn (Ezr. 263), which also appears to have been
a form of sacred lot, which it was the special function
of the priest-soothsayer to employ (Dt. 33s, bless
ing of Levi). The most instructive passage that bears
upon it is 1 S. 144iff.*. which is, unfortunately, badly
corrupted ; but if we follow the LXX and the Hebrew
text reconstructed accordingly in Driver s Commentary,
wo are allowed to infer that urim and tummim were

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

101

sacred lots employed in an ordoal to discover guilt
or innocence. According to Jerome s interpretation,
urim meant the demonstration of guilt, while tummim
meant acquittal.

The same word ephod (probably derived from a root
meaning " lay over as a covering ") is also used to
designate the linen garb of the priest, a light linen
vestment, somewhat short, as wo may infer from the
taunt uttered by Michal against David (2 S. 620),
probably a simple loin-cloth. In the details elaborated
in Ex. 282-25* (P) wo have the later development of
this simple priestly vestment, which must not in any
way be mixed up with earlier usage. In this elaborate
description of the post-exilian priestly dress we have
many obscure points (see Driver, Exodus (CB), p. 312).
It might be summarised briefly as " a kind of waistcoat
consisting of an oblong piece of richly variegated
material, reaching down as far, apparently, as the
waist. It was supported by two broad straps passing,
like braces, over the shoulders ( shoulder-pieces,
Heb. shoulders ), and attached to the ephod in
front and behind. On the top of each of these shoulder-
straps was an onyx stone enclosed in a filigree setting
of gold and engraved with the names of six of the
twelve tribes of Israel. Round the body the ephod
was further held in its place by a band woven in one
piece with it. The ephod was worn over a long blue
robe, described in 31-35 " (Driver, p. 300). In
front of the ephod the " pouch " (or bag, not " breast
plate ") " of judgment " was worn, richly coloured,
and with four rows of jewels. This pouch contained
the " urim and tummim." L -Jee now Arnold, Ephod
and Ark.~A. S. P.]

Another obscure object of worship was the terdphtm
(used in the plural like the name of God, Elohim).
Whether Yahweh was worshipped under this form as
Kautzsch supposed, or foreign deities (Benzinger
suggests Astarle), or ancestral spirits (Jicphdlm so
Neubauor, Schwally, Harper, and others), is still an
opon question. Recent discoveries show that offer
ings wore made to the dead. Wo also know, from
Michal s artifice (1 S. 19i3i.), that tho image must have
resembled the human shape, and formed a treasured
part of tho household possession (Gen. 3119,30-35).
In Hos. 34, Jg. 175, it is conjoined with the cult of
the ephod, and was evidently employed in divination
(Zech. 102, Ez.ek. 2l2i). Teraphim were suppressed,
along with divination and its accompaniments, in tho
Reformation of Josiah (2 K. 2324; cf. Dt. ISiof.).

4. Sacred Seasons and Festivals. .lust as cca-tain
spaces attached to sanctuaries were regarded as sacred
by the Semites, and ordinary human activities upon
them, as hunting and ploughing, were debarred, so
wo find certain portions of time were consecrated, and
human activities during these holy seasons were simi
larly restricted and certain exercises of worship were
demanded. These sacred seasons were determined by
(a) certain important forms of human pursuit on
which life depended, such as sheep-rearing and agri
culture ; (lj) by the phases of the moon. As an
example of () we may cite the early festival of Israel s
pastoral life, viz. the festival of sheep-shearing, to
which Absalom invited loyal guests (2 S. 132sf. ;
cf. Gen. 38i2t ., 1 S. 25^.). 1 robably it was cele
brated with a sacrificial meal of lamb s flesh and the
firstfruits of wool (Hos. 2g), but nothing is heard of
it in later times. Other examples are furnished by
the familiar agricultural festivals which we shall
presently mention. Of (J>) wo have the notable illus
trations of New Moon and Sabbath, to which wo shall
now refer.

I. NEW MOON AND SABBATH. Sabbath was celebra
ted in Babylonia as well as Israel. Greece also had its
neomenia or new moon celebration. From 1 S. 205f,
24 29 we learn that David s clan had an annual new
moon celebration at Bethlehem, at which hia own
presence was imperative. A sacrifice was offered (29),
as wo might expect. Though New Moon and Sabbath
are often mentioned together in the prophets (Is. Ii3,
Hos. 2n, Am. 85), we never find mention of the New
Moon among the older Hebrew codes.

With reference to the Sabbath, we have good reason
for believing that among the early Hebrews the four
teenth or fifteenth day of the month was called Sabbath.
The first was tho day of tho new moon, and the four
teenth (fifteenth) day would be the full moon. In this
connexion it may be noted that tho solemn paschal
meal was taken on this very night, 14 loth Nisan.

This view is strongly suggested by the discovery of
a list of Babylonian names for days by Dr. Pinches,
in which the fifteenth day is called shapattu or Sabbath.
While this may be true and the juxtaposition of
New Moon and Sabbath in tho earlier Hebrew prophets
(Is. 113, Hos. 2n, Am. 85) seems to suggest it the
sevcnth-uay Sabbath must have co-existed from early
times, since tho sacredness of the number seven and the
existence of the seventh year as one of release for slaves
appear to have been an ancient tradition of Israel
embodied in early codes (Ex. 212). Moreover, the
restrictions which attached to the Hebrew seventh-
day Sabbath belonged to the Babylonian seventh,
fourteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth days of
the month. On these days, we learn from a tablet
(IV Rawl. 32 f.), a ruler was not allowed to eat roast
tlcsh or even to change his robe or put on clean apparel,
a king could not mount a chariot or announce a de
cision, nor a soothsayer deliver an oracle, nor could a
physician lay his hand on one diseased. (See " Holi
ness " in ERE, vol. vi. p. 756.) These severe restric
tions are the outcome of the eld-world Semitic concep
tions of holiness applied to time. In earlier days they
did not so seriously limit human activities as they did
in later times (probably owing in some degree to
Babylonian influence during the Exile). Nevertheless,
in earlier times abstinence from ordinary avocations,
enforced in the Decalogue (Ex. 20io, Dt. 614), was
well sustained, as Am. 85 clearly proves, in which
similar restrictions applied to the sanctity of the new
mooii. From 2 K. 423 we infer that New Moon and
8al>bat}b were days on which prophet or soothsaying
priest at some high place might be consulted, and that
considerably longer journeys than the restricted
Sabbath day s journey of later times were permissible.

With reference to the New Moon, the practice in
post-exilian times is codified in Nu. lOio (P), where it
is laid down that the first day of the month was to be
celebrated by burnt oils-rings and peace offerings to the
accompaniment of the blowing of trumpets (cj. Ps. 81s).
Further detailed regulations as to the sacrifices then
offered are contained in a later section in Nu. 811-14
(r.f. also Ezek. 46i,3,6, Ezr. 3s, Neh. 1033,34).

The Sabbath came to have a greater importance, per
haps because it was more frequent than the new moon.
It is the only holy season mentioned in the Decalogue
(Ex. 208-1 1* , and in the list of feasts contained in Lev.
23 it is the first. Also in early pre-exilian times it was
fully maintained as a day of abstinence from labour,
even in harvest-time and ploughing (Ex. 342i, J).
In tho later days of tho Exile the stringency of tho
Sabbath was enforced by prophetic teaching (Jer. 17
19-27 (a subsequent addition), Ezek. 4424, Is. 662,
5813), as well as by nost-exilian legislation. With

102

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISBAEL

Neh. 13i5-22 c/. Ex. 3113-17, 35:: f., Nu. 1032-36
(the death-penalty by stoning being enforced on a man
who gathered sticks on the Sabbath).

The Sabbath rest of 0110 day in seven became the
foundation in early times for a series of Sabbath
cycles. Hence we have the law respecting the seventh
or tiabbatic year </ release in that early cornpend of
laws, the Book of the Covenant, !<>:. 21-23 (viz. in Ex.
212-6, 23 1 of ), which provided that the slave should
go free in the seventh year, if he so wished, after
generous provision had been made for him from tho
flock, threshing-floor, and wine-press. Also debts were
not to be exacted in tills year Moreover, the land (in
cluding vineyard and olive-yard) wag to remain fallow.
We have likewise a month-cycle. The seventh month
had therefore a special sanctity, and, according to
the later legislation of Lev. 23a ;f., the f n.st day of
this month was signaled by blowing of trumpets and
an offering made by fire.

The last of the cycles is tho end of the seventh of
the seven-year periods. This final year was Grilled the
year of Jubilc. But it is quite evident that thi., was
a later exilian or post-exilian development, the dctiiis
of which are to bo found in Lev. 25s-55 s . It was
announced with a loud trumpet-blast on the tenth day
of tiie seventh month (i.e. Tishri). Tii i;u;d was to lie
fallow as in the ordinary seventh ye , , it to

be sold in perpetuity, " for the land is mine, for ye are
strangers and sojournrrs with me" (2 ;). Great diifi-
cultics encompass thh subject. Does tho Jubile year
involve the i ort -y-nmi :, . fiftieth as

fallow years for ihe soil ? the Jubilc

year as the fiftieth. But two successive !
are implied in 20-23, which moreover guarantee "that
the preceding sixth year of the last septennial j
shall be one of exceptional fruitfulness, NO as to enable
the cultivator to tide over tho two-vear i:"
Though Driver and White (SBOT) ar;uo that th.- law
was maintained, the testimony of late Jewish writers
that the law of Jubilc belonged to theory rather
than practiee appears probable.. Sec EBi, " jubilee."
II. ANNUAL FESTIVALS AND FASTS. (a) pre-exilian.
Here we see the clear impress of Israel s settled agri
cultural life in Canaan. According to 1 ho earliest codes
(Ex. 21-23i9, 34io-26) there were three such festivals
in the earlier period of Israel .-; life in Canaan (Ex. 23
14-17, 34xSf.), viz. :

(i.) The Festival of CuJcannal tW;<.s (Massolh).
With this the ancient nomadic j> i - ovei sacrifice of the
lamb (pesah) came to be associated ( Kx. 3 ! -.25, Dt. IGxf.),
probably because both were nearly- coincident in time!
the one being the product of the firstfruits of the
corn, the other the firstling of tho flock. The feast of
Unleavened Cakes was celebrated for a wsek, from tho
15th to 2 1st Nisan, and is mentioned by itself without
reference to Passover in Ex. 2815. According to
Dt, 10g it began from the time when thou boginnest
to put the sickle to the standing corn." It therefore
marked the beginning of the harvest, just as the Feast
of Weeks marked its close. Ono characteristic of tho
feast, which is still maintained in tho ritual of every
Jewish household at the present day, is the complete
banishment of all leaven (Ex. 12i5*) from the precincts
(Dt. 16.|). Ex. 3425 seems to imply the close conjunction
of Passover and Unleavened Cakes. On the other hand,
the special command respecting Passover issued by
kins; Josiali in the days of general degeneracy and
laxity (2 K. 232if.) seems to imply that this primitive
celebration had fallen into neglect. Henceforth (Dt. 16
1-7) it acquired exceptional importance and formed
&a indissoluble part of tho Easter festival of Unleavened

Cakes. Note that it was no longer to be kept anywhere
except at the central sanctuary (sf. ; c/. 1619-20). Iv
was to^ be sacrificed at sunset at the close of the
14th Nisan, find then boiled and eaten within the
precincts of the sanctuary.

Here w-e notice that the domestic character of the
institution in its earlier pre-exilian form represented
by the J narrative in Ex. 1221-27 is removed in order
to vindicate the exclusive claims of the central
sanctuary in Jerusalem so r6poatodly enforced in
Deuteronomy. What Deuteronomy and this J narra
tive have in common is that the Passover is closely
connected with the Exodus journey. Moreover tho
J narrative derives tho name of the Passover sacrifice
(pcsah) from the fact that God spared the firstborn of
the Hebrew household on whoso door-posts the blood
of the paschal lamb had been smeared. For other
explanations, sec EBi, lt Passover."

Special provision is made, both in tho earlier codes
(Ex. 23x8, 3425) as well as in Deuteronomy, that tho
sacrificial flesh shall not remain till the morning.
According to Deuteronomy the Feast of Unleavened
Cakes closed on tho seventh day with solemn Sabbatic
celebration.

(ii.) Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23 16), or, as it is called
in^ another early compend of laws, the feast of week*
(Ex. 342.-.). was that of the firstfruits of the wheat
harvest. It way celebrated, as we learn from the fuller
statement in Dt. 16o, seven weeks after the beginning
of the harvest or " time when thou boginnest to put
the sickle to tho standing corn." So von weeks mav
have been the average duration of the Palestinian
harvest. Probably it varied in different parts of
Canaan, and this length of time was observed in tho
Jerusalem sanctuary because it applied especially to
Judah and Benjamin. This would bring the celebra
tion to the (5th of tho month Sivan (May-June). The
foast must have corresponded in character somewhat
to our English " harvest home." It was accompanied
by a " tribute of a free-will offering of thine hand "
(!)!-.. li To), and all were bidden to participate in this
truly social feast of rejoicing, both father and family
as well as servants, resident alien, widow, and orphan.
Probably tho " joy in harvest " of Is. 83 is an allusion
to tho genial character of this harvest feast.

(iii.) Feast of Ingathering (Ex. 23x6, 3422), called in
later times (Dt, 16 13-1 5) feast of Booths ("Tabemaclss"),
completed the cycle of annual agricultural feasts. This
last was celebrated at the ""turn of tho circuit "
(Ex. 3422) of the old Canaanite-Hebrew year, i.e. the
present civil month-calendar of the Jews. Tho month
in which it was held was called in prc-exilian Israel
thanim (in the later Bab. -Jewish or Ecclesiastical
Calendar Tishri), corresponding to September-October.
According to the more detailed statement in Dt. 1613
the festival Irsted seven days, i.e. from 15th to 21st
Tishri, and was held " after thou hast gathered in
from thy threshing-floor and from thy wine-press."
It was essentially a vintage festival. Probably no
feast was more characteristic of the Canaanite and
Hebrew life of tho pre-exilian period. The oracles of
the prophets of this period contain frequent reference
to its joy and merry-making. Am. 8if. connects the
basket of summer fruit with the songs of rejoicing in
the Temple soon to be changed to howlings, just a:-i in
tho denunciation of doom on Moab another prophet
declares : Upon thy summer fruits and upon thy
harvest the shout (of battle) is fallen, and gladness is
taken away and joy out of tho fruitful field," etc.
(Is. 16af. ; cf. Hos. 9xf., Jer. 2530). A picturesque
touch is given us in Jg. 2119-21, iu which this annual

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

103

autumn festival at Shiloh is described, in which tho
" daughters of SSiiloh came out to dance in the dances."
In a vine-cultivating land like Canaan such a festival
might easily degenerate into excess Indeed Shiloh,
like Samaria (Is. 281,3), was probably notorious for
its intemperance (1 S. lg, isf. ). In fact it was against
this sensuous indulgence of Canaanito life that tho
NaziritcoTder (Nu. 0*, Jg. 134f.*, Jcr. 35, Am. 2i 2) arose
as a protest, and as an endeavour to restore tho old and
primitive .simplicity of Israel s earlier nomadie life.

The reformation in Josiah g reign which found ex
pression in the Code contained in. Deuteronomy brought
about the suppression of the high places. It must have
effected a great change. Instead of a, short pilgrimage
to a local shrine like Bethel, Shechom, or Beersheba,
the pilgrim was compelled to journey a considerable
distance to tho great Jerusalem sanctuary. As the
festival then lasted an entire week, tho erection of
booths became necessary and the feast was called tho
feast of Booths (tabernacles). From this time onwards,
and especially in the restored Temple worship in
augurated by Ezra and Nehemiah, when the detailed
regulations of P (contained in Lev. and Nu.) came into
force, the old genial character of festival celebrations
passed away, while a purer, more rigid, and puritanic
legalism took its place.

The Hebrew festivals of tho pre-cxilian period, just
described, formed tho religious cement of the clans and
tribes of Israel who participated in tho common sacra
of the common altar. In many respects tho Arabic
Hajj graphically portrayed by Wellhausen (R?sie
arab. Heidentums,* pp. 87-89) represents the old pre-
exilian Hebrew Hagg or festival. li It formed tho
rendezvous of ancient Arabian life Here came under
the protection of the peace of God the tribes and clans
which at other times lived apart, and only knew peace
and security within their own frontiers. Hero affairs
between peoples or states or questions affecting the
rights of nations were settled, tribute paid or cessation
of war during a dry season arranged, or a struggle
postponed for a year. Moreover, an active intercourse
arose between individuals in every form and mode.
It was the single opportunity when members of different
tribes could move freely and fearlessly in their relations
to one another. Tradesmen and pedlars, smiths and
horse-doctors erect their booths . . . (c,f. the allusion
to the grasping trader in Am. 825). Slaves aro bought
or redeemed . . . acquaintances are made, and court
ships arranged between adherents of different, tribes
who could otherwise hardly manage to see one another."

(b) Pest-exilian Developments. The general tendency
of the changes in ritual, especially of sacrifice, and in
the festivals of the post-exilian period, has been already
briefly indicated. They rnav be found in the legisla
tion of P in Ex. 35-40, Lev. entire, and Nu. 1-1028
and subsequent sections in Numbers. It should bo
understood, however, that by no means all tho addi
tional details respecting sacrifice or ritual belong to
this post-exilian period. It is now generally recognised
that much of this detail is of old pre-exilian origin.
Thus:

(i.) We note that the Passorer feast reverts in Ex. 1%
3f.* (P) to its original domestic character which it still
possesses in every Jewish household. The removal of
leaven from the house was by later enactment ordnined
for the interval between the evening of the 13th and
that of the 14th Nisan. This is what in Jn. 19i4
(cf. Mk. 15 12, Mt. 276s) is called the " preparation for
the possover." On present-day use see Oesterlcy and
Box, Religion and Worship of the Synagogue, pp. 356f.
(1st ed.). Till midday cf. the 14th, leaven might bo

eaten, after which every fragment wan destroyed. For
the Passover meal either a lamb or a kid might be
chosen. The selection of tho animal was fixed for
the 10th of tho month Nisan (or in the old pro-exilian
Hebrew-Canr.aiiite calendar Abib), care being taken
(hat it should be a male in its fir, t year and without
lictiiivh (Ex. 125). The lamb was slain at or before
Miiiset on the 14th Nisan. Special precautions were
taken that not a bone of tho lamb should be broken
(Ex. 12/if)). According to the Jewish treatise Pe uliim,
vii. 11, tho penally for breaking a bone was forty stripes
save ono. (Some would hold -uith respect to the
incident in Jn. 19.31-33 that tho citation in 36 is a
reference to Ex. 12/|6 ; cf. Nu. 9i2, which is interpreted
typically. This is possible, though the analogy of
Jn. 19s7 which iinmed ately follows makes the refer
ence to Ps. 3420 more probable.) The llesh was not to
be eaten raw since tho blood would be consumed also,
in direct violation cf tho post-exilian regulations in
den. 94, Lev. 7 2 6f.. 1710-15 (P), cf. Ps. 1.64. but it
v,-as to be roasted on fire and eaten along with un
leavened cakes arid bitter herbs (with, lettuce or wild
endive ; see ]\iishna, Pesahim, ii. 6). All that remained
was to bo consumed with fire before morning. Tho
boimden duty of every male, who was not prevented
by uncleanness or by travel, to take part in the Pass
over, was very strictly enforced by later JcwHi legisla
tion (Nu. 04-14 P). Even the resident alien if circum
cised (Ex. 1248 P) was expected to participate. But
if, by reason of temporary disqualification, a man was
prevented from taking part, special provision was made
for him by the institu ion of a second Pa-worer just one
month later (1.4th lyyar).

With reference to the seven days that followed the
Passover, when unleavened calces were eaten, elaborate
regulations are set forth in Nu. 2816-25. The 15th
Nisan was a day cf " holy convocation," on which no
servile work could bo done. Special offerings for this
and the following days till the 21st (which was again
a clay of " holy convocation " strictly kept) are
appointed in Nu. 28ic;f. From Lev. 23iof. we learn
that a special rite was appointed for the 16th or
morrow after the Sabbath, viz. the presentation of the
" Omer " or sheaf of barley which was waved by the
priest before Yahweh. A ma!o lamb a year old with
out blemish was sacrificed at the same time as a burnt-
offering, accompanied by cereal offerings.

(ii.) Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.- There has been
considerable discussion as to how the Pentecost was
reckoned. It is enough to say that Pentecost was
reckoned from the morrow of tho Sabbath, i.e. tho
16th Nisan on which the "wire offering " (Tenufah)
of tho " Omer " or sheaf was presented in tho Temple.
Thus Pentecost fell on the Oth of tho month Sivan.
Pentecost was celebrated by tho offering of two ioaves
baked from Ir-avcn as firstfruits, accompanied by a
burnt offering of seven lambs of a year old without
blemish. Several other sacrificial details were added,
viz. in Lev. 2315-21. Nu. 2826-31 (P).

(iii.) Fea- v t of Booths (or Tabernacles) lasted from the
]5th till 22nd Tisliri (Ethanlm in the old Hebrew-
Canaanite calendar) which corresponds to September-
October. The first day (loth) was a day of holy
convocation or public worship on which all servile
labour ceased (Lev. 2335). The main characteristic
of the first was tho erection of booths from palm-
branches or boughs of willows or other large trees.
Nu. 29i2-i6 contains regulations as to the special
offerings to bo presented on the first day. while in 17-38
we have a series of instructions respecting the special
offerings of animals, meal-offerings, and drink-offerings

104

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

for each clay of the feast until the eighth day, which
was onco more a day of solemn assembly that brought
tho festival to a close.

The precise mode of celebration no doubt varied
somewhat at different periods. Thus in Neli. 815! wo
read that the branches i:i the booths were olive, myrtle,
aml_ palm, and that the booths were set up on the
roofs of houses and in their courts, ia the courts
of God s Temple, and in the open space by the water-
gate and that of the gate of Ephraim. From Jewish
treatises of later limes (chiefly tiuccah) we learn that
in the early morning of the 15th a priest followed by
a procession went down to the pool of Siloam and drew
water from thence into a golden vessel and returned
to join the other priests at the morning sacrifice. The
remaining details of procedure need not be described.
But there is good reason to believe that this rite- of
water-drawing, and the libation that followed, were
carried out in the time of Christ, and there may be an
allusion to it in Christ s words on the last d:;y of tho
Feast of Booths in Jn. 73/f. : " If any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink " (see Wimsche. Ni ue
Beitra(j( zur Erltittterv.iKj <!fr A rtnit/di, ,1, nil loc.),

We now come to a w ;> of ;/o.s; -,-.r<72 <>(/- slivnU u hk-h.
properly speaking, belong only to the centnrie-s subse
quent to the Exile. Most important among these is :

(a) Thu Dinj / AtoiiruiPHf. really a fast and not a
feast (Ay. 27e, ; cf. Joseph. Ant. xiv. 10, U), held on the
li. i !i Ti-;hri. It was called a " high Sabbath. " a day of
holy convocation " on \\hieh no work could be done,
and every Israelite, home-born slave, and even resident
alien was required to afllict his soul" (Lev. KL^of.,
2827-32). The ceremonial throughout t lie day was
essentially expiatory in character, and reflects the
general tendency of sacrificial rites at this time, which
was piacular, and bore ivlVi nice to an exalted sense of
sin and uncleanness. Moreover, the ceremonial through
out the whole time, lasting from t!:e evening of th" :-th
to that of the 10th, was centred in the person of t!i;j
High 1 riest, a personage whose office emerges in the
po.;t-exiliaii period (Xi-ch. 3i). The special offerings
for the day are prescribed in \-.<. 297-1 1, and are
similar (o those of the eighth day (22nd Tishri) in the
Feast of Booths. On the other hand, the ritual pro
ceedings appointed for tho High Priest are set forth
in detail in Lev. ir>;,-jS. AiVr having bathed in
water, he arrayed himself in garments of white linen as
well as linen girdle and turban. He then brought a
young bullock as a sin-offering for himself anid his
house and a ram for burnt-offering. But in making
atonement for the people a ram was ch.^.en for a burnt-
offering ((/. lleb. 727) and t \vo he-goats \\ere selected.
Then follows a unique ceremony described in con
siderable detail. Lois were; east with respect to Iho
two he-goats, whereby one was assigned for Yah well
and the other for Azazel (probably some demon of the
desert). The bullock wa < then offered as an expiation
for the High Priest and his family. After this a censer
was filled with coals from tho altar of burnt-offering,
and with a handful of incense tho High .Priest entered
the Holy of Holies (cf. Heb. 97,11,24-20). As he threw
the sweet incense on tho coals, clouds of tho incense
covered the Ark and the mercy-seat, apparently with
the object (rf. Lev. 1613) of veiling tho Divine Presence,
for no man can see God s manifestation and live
(Ex. 192i, Jg. 1322). The blood of the bullock was the n
sprinkled on the oast side of tho mercy-seat and seven
times on the space in front. Coming forth from the
Holy of Holies the High Priest, having made atonement
for himself and his household, next made atonement
for the people by offering the goat reserved for Yahweh

as sin-offering for the people. Ho then re-entered the
Holy of Holies, into which none could accompany him,
and performed the same acts of sprinkling with the
goat s blood. Ex. 30io here gives some further details
not found in Leviticus. Once more the High Priest
emerged from tho Holy of Holies and, after further
lustra! ceremonies on the altar of burnt-offering, pro
ceeded to the strange rite with the goat devoted to
Azazel (called " scape-goat "). Upon it the High
Priest laid both his hand.) and confessed over it all the
sins of the Israelites. Tho goat was then led away
into the wilderness to a remote spot and set free. Tho
High Priest, after bathing, resumed his priestly vest
ments in tho " tent of meeting," and then came forth
and offered two burnt-offerings for himself and tho
people (Lev. 1(523! .). Meanwhile the man to whom
was entrusted the goat for Azazel was regarded as
unclean and had to bathe his flesh in water (26). In
later times the penitential confession of sin (rf. Bab.
penitential litanies) took an important place in the
service of tho Bay of Atonement (cf. Ps. 32s). Further
details and later minutiae introduced into its observance
may bo found in HDB, "Atonement, Day of," derived
in tho main from tho Mishna tract Yuma. For NT
students the chief interest lies in the great place which
this fast occupies in the argument of the Epistle to the
Hebrews.

(l>) Tho other festivals or sacred days in post-exilian
Judaism may here be enumerated . (I) Fcnst of
Trumpet* at the beginning of tho seventh month (Tishri)
of the ecclesiastical year and tho first of the Jewish
\var. It was accordingly a New Year fexlical,
a solemn Sabbath and New-moon feast, on which
work ceased. The sacrificial regulations may bo found
in Nu. 29 1-6. (~2) Fe:ist of Dedication (still called
by the Jews Hanukkah), established by Judas Mac-
cabum-i to commemorate tho purification of the Temple
in the month Kislov (about December) IG4 B.C. (p.
b 07), after its desecration by heathen sacrifices through
Antioehus tfpiphanos (I Mae. 45<>). Ps. 30* is generally
held to be a Temple-inauguration Psalm in reference
to this event, and i^ still so employed in Jewish liturgy
(rf. Jn. 1022). (3) Feast of Part HI, on the 14th and
].~>;!i of the twelfth month (Adar or Feb.-Mareh),
commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from
llaman. In F.st. 922 it is ordained that Jews should
treat these two days as " days of feasting and gladness
and of sending portions to one another and gifts to
the poor." In 2 Mac. 1636 the feast is called " the
day of Mordocai." We know that it was celebrated
in the first century of our era (Joseph. Ant. \i. 6, Li).
(4) Other post -exilian feasts need only a bare enumera
tion, such as the Feast of Acra, 23rd of second month
(lyyar). established by Simon the Maccabee, 141 B.C.,
to commemorate the capture and purification of Acra
(1 Mac. 1350-52). This feast afterwards became
obsolete. Feast of Wood-carrying on loth of the fifth
monih (Ab), on which wood was brought to supply the
altar-fire in the Temple (Noh. 1034, 1^3 1 ; Joseph.
Wart, ii. 17, 6). Feast of Nicanor. another Maccabsean
institution commemorating the victory over Nicanor,
the general of the Syrian forces of Antioehus Epiphanes,
at Adasa near Bothhoron, 161 B.C. It waa held on
the 13th day of Adar (Feb. -March) ; cf. 1 Mac. 749
Fast of Esther (Eat. 4i6) preceded Purim on the
13th Adar.

In addition to these we read of certain fasts of
sorrowful commemoration of the tragic events which
occurred at the close of the Judsean kingdom, viz. the.
Babylonian assault on Jerusalem on the ninth day of
the fourth month (Tammuz or June-July) (2 K. 2o3f.,

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISHAEL

105

Zech. 75.5, 819), the destruction of the city and
Temple (Jer. 52i2) on the tenth day of tho fifth month
(Ab or July-August). The following list of months,
arranged according to the Ecclesiastical Calendar and
containing the chief feast- and fast-days, will be found
useful :

1. Abib or Nisan (March-April).

1st or New Moon. Beginning of the ecclesiasti
cal year.

14th. Preparation for Passover; paschal lamb
eaten about sunset. Barley IvarveM.

15th. Sabbath and Holy Convocation. Begin
ning of Week of Unleavened Cakes.

IGth. Offering of Omer or First Sheaf (Barley).

21st. Holy Convocation.

2. lyyar (April-May) or Ziv (older name).

1st. New Moon.

14th. Second or Little Passovr-r.

3. Sivan (May-June).

1st. New Moon. Wheat harvest.
6th-7th. Pentecost or Feast of Weeks, marking
the closo of corn harvest.

4. Tammuz (June-July).

1st. New Moon.

5. Ab (July-Aug ).

1st. New Moon.

6. Elul (Aug.-Sep.).

1st. New Moon

7. Tishri (Sep.-Oct.) or ElM-nhn (older name).

1st. New Moon New Year s Day of the Jewish

Civil Year. Feast of Trumpets.
10th. Fast of Atonement.
15th-22nd. Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles).

8. Marchesvan (Oct. -Nov.) or Bui (older name).

1st. New Moon.

9. Kislev (Nov.-Dec.).

1st. New Moon.
25th. Feast of Dedication.
10 Tebeth (Dec.-Jan.).
1st. New Moon.

11. Shebat (Jan.-Feb.).

1st. New Moon.

12. Adar (Feb.-March).

1st. New Moon.

13th. Feast of Nicaiior.

14th-15th. Feast of Purirn.

13. Ve-Adar (intercalary month).

Vows were not infrequent among the Hebrews as
among other peoples. It was an obligation to God, a
pledge to do certain things, voluntarily incurred, fre
quently in times of crisis or trouble, in order to secure
Divine aid. The pledge often consisted in some
service, gift, or sacrifice. It was of a very binding
character and might be very tragic in it? issue, as in
the case of Jephthah (Jg. 11 301.), or entail unforeseen
issues (Ac. 232 if.). Any evasion or subterfuge was
sternly censured or suppressed (Dt 2321-23, Pr. 2025,
Mai. 1 14). The laws respecting vows in the Pentateuch
were codified late, i.e. belong to the post-exilian docu
ment P, viz Lev. 27 1-29, which deals especially with
the objects devoted or " sanctified " to Yahwch in the
accomplishment of a vow and the conditions on which
they might be redeemed, and Nu. 30, which deals with
the vows made by women, whether married or divorced
or widows. A vow made by a woman without a
husband s cognisance and consent is not allowed to
stand a very significant illustration of the subject
condition of woincu in those times.

Deference has already (p. 103 ) been made to the Nazir-
l te, or one who had taken the vow of consecration or

separation to Yahweh. Unshoni locks and abstinence
from wino were the chief obligations ; indeed every
product of the grape is debarred in Nu. G* (P), and
even approach to a dead body, though it be of a
near relation.

5. Ark of God ; its Temple and Furniture ; Music ;
Synagogue. In very early times the Hebrews appear
to have borrowed the conception of an ark which
formed the palladium that enshrined the .Divine numen
or presence. Egypt appears to have been the proxi
mate source from which it came. In Lepsius, Dtnk-
maler, iii. J896, we have portrayed on a monument of
tho time of Ramcsos II a sacred bark which conveyed
the God Amon. We have also sacred barks moved on
wheels which conveyed Babylonian deities in religious
processions. The Hebrew Ark appears to have been
specially connected with military expeditions. We find
it associated with the name of the Lord of Hosts
enthroned above the cherubim in 1 S. 44, 2 tS. 62
(cf. Dt. 103). This Ark in ordinary times, during the
nomadic life of Israel in the wilderness, was placed in
the sacred tent where Moses held converse with Yahweh
(Ex. 337n E). But when Israel advanced on their
march, the Ark was borne on the priests shoulders, and
the cry was raised : " Arise, Yahweh, that Thy
enemies may be scattered and those that hate Thee
flee from Thy presence ; and when Israel reached his
destination the exclamation arose : " Return, Yahweh,
to the myriads of Israel s thousands " (Nu. 1035 ;
cf. Ps. 681). Shiloh was the resting-place of the Ark
when Israel had settled in Canaan, ilere was evidently
a building in which the Ark was housed within a
covered erection, recess, or adytum (Hebrew debhir)
with which Canaanite sanctuaries of larger size were
provided. A lamp was kept burning by the Ark ( 1 S. 83),
probably from sunset till dawn. Outside the covered
debhir was an outer court open to the sky (hatser) where
an altar stood whereon victims were sacrificed. An
interesting added detail occurs in LXX of 1 S- liS :
And she (Hannah) said, Let thy handmaid find favour
in thine eyes. And the woman went her way and
entered the (rather than her ) chamber and did eat."
The passage becomes clear in the light of 1 S. 922.
On the side of the court, near to the debhir, was the
sleeping apartment of the priests (1 S. 3 if.). There
would also be some larger chamber (lishkah), where
priests and others partook of the flesh of offerings used
in sacrifice. Canaanite and Hebrew temples were
made, like Greek temples, receptacles for treasure.
Thus 70 shekels were stored in tho sanctuary of Ba al
Berith ( Jg. 94) The sanctity of the spot, it was held,
would preserve the treasure inviolate (cf. 1 K. 15 18.
2 K. 12i8, 1815, 24i 3 ).

The Temple erected by Solomon, with the aid of
Phoenician craftsmen, was on a scale hitherto unknown
in Israel, and in 1 K 6f. we have a number of valuable
but unfortunately obscure and mutilated details into
which it is impossible to enter. Tho reader is
referred to the articles " Temple " in EBi and HDB.
This Temple was provided with a, large outer court.
The worshipping throng assembled in this outer court,
within which the most conspicuous object was the
large altar for burnt offerings, made by Tyrian arti
ficers of bronze, with a length and breadth of 20 cubits
a,t the base and 10 cubits high. From the base the
altar rose in three stages. Also SE. of the Temple
proper stood a bronze " sea " 5 cubits high and 10
in diameter, which rested on twelve oxen of bronze
with their faces directed outward, the significance of
which cannot be discussed here. Passin? between two
pillars called Ydchin and Bd az fronting E, and through

10G

THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OP ISRAEL

the portico, we come into tho Temple proper, which
consist-; of two pnri*. Fir.vt, a front chamber 40 cubits
long, 20 broad, and 30 in height. The chief object
contained in this front chamber was the so-called
table of shewbread : (Ex. 25 2 3-30 ". Lc-v. 24-5 -<)*), or
of " bread of the Presence," a kind cf altar-table made
of cedar-wood (1 K. 620). Second, we como to the
hinder most chamber or most holy place (Holy of
Holies) which stood on the westernmost side of tho
Temple structure and corresponded to the aforesaid
debklr. For within its precincts stood the Ark of the
Covenant (or " ark of God ") already described, in which
God s presence dwelt in a very special manner. T hi;
Holy of Holies is associated very intimately with tho
personality of the High Priest and bis functions or: tho
great Day >{ Atonement. See above. 4, p. L04.

After 621 B.C. (Josiah s Reformation) Solomon s
Temple acouirecl an exclusive position as the only
place where sacrifice could be ottered. But at tlii
time, and especially during and after the Exile, a
very largo number of Jews wore scattered in the lands
outside Palestine, especially in Egypt, Babylonia, and
in the countries which bordered the eastern shores of
the Mediterranean. How did they maintain their
religious life ? l\<-cent discovery has shown us that
a temple for Jcv, i;li worshii; exist "d at Elephantine
in Egypt b, J ,>n.> r>2!> n.c and continued till its destruc
tion in 407 H.C. Later still we have the rival temple
to that of Jerusalem at [><;;; f:;v;o!i ; set up bv Onias IV
in 100 B.C. (Is. lids -). MIT thi , \va-. an illegitimate wor
ship in defiance of Deuteronomy. Accordingly Jews had
recourse to the ,S //wf,v//. Y and it s worship, in which
praise, prayer, and tho rending of the Scriptures (Law
and Prophets) took the place of the sacrificial cere
monial which was lawful in Jerusalem only. Every
considerable town would have one or i;iore syn;!._
.Indeed the growth of a body of canonised Scripture
]>robably arose ];artly in response to the need? of pious
Jews in the widely scattered and ever-increasing
I) id* pom who lie ired t.i worship the God of their
fathers on the Sabbath and at other times than the
recurring annual feasts at Jerusalem. Tho genera!
supervision of the services of the synagogue was in
the hands of the Clii(f of tin: S // (/ :V":/ . V. orship
consisted of public prayer, the reading of the Scriptures
(Law and Prophets) and exhortation, and it was
competent for any man to take part (Lk. 4i6-2:>,
Ac. KJisf.) with the consent and approval of the chief
or chiefs of the synagogue. Both in the later post-
exilian Temple as well as in synagogue- worship, music
and singing came to play an important part. This K
clearly evident in 1 Ch. i:>i6f.. [64-36, 25i-7. The
elaborate arrangements for psalmody hero set forth do
not belong to the early days of the Israelite monarchy,
but to those of the later post-exilian Temple services
of about 2/50 B.C. or later, when the Books of Chronicles
were drawn up. The live Books of Psalms gradually
arose in connexion with the musical worship of Temple
and synagogue. Musical instruments came into use,
and there can be little doubt that Greek inrluence here
played a part. Thus the names of several musical
instruments in Dan. 35,10.15 are Greek (cf. Lk. lo^5).
The Book of Daniel belongs to 1(>5 B.C. See Schuror,
Hist, of the Jewish Peoplt, 3rd German <d.. vol. ii.
pp. 49f.

6. Sacred Persons. King Sorcerer Soothsayer
Priest Scribe Prophet.

The King was anointed, and was thereby held to be
endowed with a certain supernatural power, and on
this account was called Meaziah or " the Lord s
anointed." His person, like that of a priest, was

sacrosanct and inviolable (1 S. 246-io, 2 S. li.;). li>
this respect the Hebrew king did not greatly differ from
the Assyrian or Babylonian king, who was held to be
of Divine descent and possessed priestly functions.
Thus David and his sons exercised priestly func
tions (2 S. 617, 1 K. 86.;f.). At a very early period
Israel had, like other Semites (e.g. tho Babylonians)
their recognised Mafjicimis, Soothsayers, and Necro
mancers. The magicians or sorcerers sought by in
cantations, tying of knots, or other practices, such a-;
tho evil eye. to control events or blast the happine.v,
or welfare of those against whom these practices we :i e
directed (see Mayic, Sorcery in HOB). The Necro
mancer was supposed to be possessed of the spirit of .".
deceased person and to speak with his voice. X> -t
infrequently these arts were practised by women, a-j
in the case of the Witch of Endor (1 S. 2*871.). Tiiev
were sternly reprobated by tho prophets (Is. Sio, 2!).[) ;
in fact the death-penalty was appointed for tlio
sorceress in the early legislation of Ex. 22 18. On tho
other hand the Konlli^tiytr (koseni), who endeavoured
to a. certain l>y various mechanical means, such a.-;
n rods or arrows, the will of the Deity before
any important enterprise, such a ; .: military expedition,
was undertaken, was regarded as one of the mainstays
of the state. Thus in Is. . !; he is mentioned by the sido
of tho ju(U:\-. the captain, and tho prophet. But in
Dt. ISiof his function, as \\ell as that of others closely
akin, is definitely declared illegitimate. See Sooth-
/;< r in H!)i;.

In the early days of Israel s life in Oaria.n sooth
saying was one of the chief duties of the Priest. This
can easily bi> shown by reference, to the facts of tho
case. It has been already stated m 3. p. 100, that ii
was the business of the p;iest who boro the cphod
in the military expeditions of the king to declare God a
v. ill to the king who inquired of i .ihwoh by means c
the .-acred lot. Jn the Blessing of Moses it is said o:
the priest-tribe Lcvi that a rim <i>al tuinntim (already
explained, pp. lOOf .) formed part of their sacrod function
(Dt. 33s ; cf. i S. 2801. The Hebrew word for priest
is ko. it it, bat in Arabic what is virtually the saino
word (.(ii/ iid) means "soothsayer." In later times
the priest s function became more restricted to sacri
ficial and other Temple ceremonial. Moreover, in
earlier times (hero was no restriction as Lo tho personnel
of the priesthood. Joshua, who was an Ephraimite,
exercised priestly functions in tho " tent of mooting"
without the camp ( Ex. 33 1 r E), while David, a Judsean,
offered sacrifice (2 S. in/), and his sons also discharged
pri s lv functions (2 S. 8i). This is in full accord
with the earlier comjjends of legislation ( Ex. 2023-
23iQ, 34io-28), in which there is no restriction as to the
personnel of the priesthood. Yet it is fairly obvious
that at an early time special virtue accrued to those
who belonged to the tribe of Levi, to whom priestly
functions came to bo attached. This clearly appears
in tho early narrative Jg. 177-13. Micah feels
assuied of a Divine blessing seeing I have a Levito
for priest." In the time of Josiah the reformation re-
llcctcd in the legislation of Deuteronomy definitely
assigned the priesthood with its sacrificial function to
the Levites only. A still further restriction was mado
in post-exilian legislation when one family only of tho
Levitical tribe was permitted to hold the sacerdotal
function, viz. the sons of Aaron, while the other
Levites were assigned subordinate functions (cf. Ezek.
447f.). These new developments of the post-exilian
period are reflected in P (mainly in Leviticus). More
over we now (for the first time in Zeoh. 3i) find that
the entire priesthood has a supreme head the High

THE EELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

107

Priest whose exalted national and representative
dignity is most fully manifested in the Great Day of
Atonement already described in 4, p. 104. This high
personality, with his saercd office, naturally absorbed
the dignity and position of the Hebrew king of pre-
xilian times, in days when Judah was ruled under a,
Persian viceroy and the old national state with a
icing at its head gave place to a Church-state whoso
head was the High Priest. In the middle of the second
century B.C. we have a succession of Asmonean High
Priests in Jerusalem enjoying princely power and
splendour. The elaborate details respecting the priest
hood and their courses in 1 Oh. 23f. rellect the con
ditions of ecclesiastical organisation and practice in a
late post-exilian period (third century B.C.). Cf. Lk.

15,8.

After the time of Ezra the Pentateuch or Law (Torah)
became a book of canonised authority, the foundation
on which the religious and social life of the Jewish
community was based. Its careful study became,
therefore, a matter of vital interest, and there arose a
body of men distinct from the priests, called the Scribes,
who made the study and interpretation of the Law their
special business. The duties of the priests were con
nected with Temple ceremonial In days when Hellen
ism became rampant and corrupted the priesthood, the
scribes, who were enthusiasts for the Law, grew in
power and reputation, and this high position they hold
in the time of our Lord.

In the far earlier age of Israel s life before the Exilo
there arose another order of religious functionary called
the Prophets. In the days that preceded Samuel, the
prophet was usually called Seer (1 S. 9q), who would give
answers to those who " inquired of God " and sought
direction about the ordinary affairs of life, much
as those who consulted a Greek HCWTIS. We know
that Canaanites also had their prophets (1 K. 18ig).
Prophesying in the days of Samuel assumed strange
ecstatic forms, and prophets were somewhat like the
dervishes in Mohammedan countries (1 S. 10.5f., ISio,
1923f.). "Frenzied" (2 K. 9n) was the term cur
rently applied (cf. Hos. 97) to the manner and speech
of their members. Those members formed special
guilds or societies dwelling in special .spots and pre
sided over by some head such as Samuel, Elijah, or
Elisha. The term " schools " of the prophets is

altogether a misnomer. Individual prophets like
Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah ben
Yimlah (1 K. 22) rose above the ordinary level of these
prophets, and when we come to the eighth century
prophets such as Amos, Hosea Isaiah, and Micah, we
aie in the presence of men of far-reaching, Divinely-
inspired intelligence;, who were able to interpret to
their countrymen God s true nature and His moral
requirements. Israel s progress in the knowledge of
God and in the path of true religion was almost wholly
due to the teaching of this wonderful order of men, who
succeeded in lifting religion out of the realm of tradi
tional and national ceremonial and basing it on its true
foundation of God s eternal, righteous will.

It is at this point that we see the great distinguishing
feature of the Hebrew religion from the time of Moses
(himself a prophet) onwards. No other race possessed
eucli an order of men. It is not so much in their
priests and their institutions that Israel was distin
guished from other ancient peoples of the world, for
other Semitic peoples exhibit in these respects parallels
more or loss close. But Israel is distinguished by those
large progressive ideas instilled by the Hebrew prophets
which enabled Israel, and through Israel mankind,
" by divers portions and in divers manners " (Heb. li)
" to rise on stepping-stones of their dead selves to
higher things."

Literature. Nowaek, Hebrdische Archdoiogie ; Bcn-
zincrer. Hebfaische Arcliaologie 2 ; W. R. Smith, The
Religion of the Semites 2 ; Wellhausen, Reste arabi-
t<chen Heidentums\, Prolegomena to the Hi* ory of
Israel ; Lagrange, Etudes sur les Religions Semitiques 2 ;
Schiirer, History of the Jeivish People in the Tims
of Christ. Of the older literature, J. Spencer s De
Legibus Hebrceorum Riiualilnis is valuable. There is
at present no English work corresponding to Nowack s
or Ben/inger s the volume in Int. Theol. Lib. has
been entrusted to G. B. Gray. Meanwhile the English
reader may study the subject in works on OTT and
the Religion of Israel (see p. 97) ; in valuable articles
on the various topics in HDB, EBi, HSDB, EB 11 ,
Herzog-Hauck Realcncydopaxlie, the Jewish Encyclo
pedia ; and in commentaries, esp. Nu., Dt., Jg., in
100 ; Ex., Lev., Nu., in OB and Cent.B.; Ex. in West.C.
The commentaries in HK and KHC are also to be
recommended.

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

BY PROFESSOR WILFRID J. MOULTON

THE -.

history of th<- Hebrew p.
patria:

a- ].):. - - .. .--

of the : - .35), point back to a

nomad period v
the rriod- -nj Bedouin. Fi

tine up - popu

lation r :r -, .--.:
-

-
taine i "

!
I
all efforts to

Hellei

can do little more ti
the pi ;T -S.- revealed in the *T. V 1

treat.:
failuj-

The subject v : T -with u- main

heading : A. The ] : Trad - and

Commerce. <". -

A. TUP: FAMILY

In all the early 3

as of family the

I

clan, and the f

male- : t5 \ ;

f the Ex<v.

-ural chief-

the natur - - ^ l - family

was : ritual

of the Pa-- father

acted as : -^P f ^ Jf -

farnily. In later dav^

sacn;. i .nnu*.!

religious festival in its own i f -ry member

is expect <-d to be pi

IB represented 3 priest on

family (1 ; .

In eailier times the father possessed the nr
life and death over his children. This is illustrated
in the Rtcries of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 22), and of
Jephthah s daughter (Jg. 1134^.). Similarly in the
Book of the Covenant a father hab the right to sell

hi daughter s^ a ;;on i-. : -r\-ant (p:x. 21 7). Kv. .
later tirrje.s this right cea?ed to be despotic. In L>~ .
21 1 -f. the incorrigible son is liable to the death penalty,
but this must be inflicted by the decision of an im
partial tribunal Later etil!, as in Pr.3fJi7, disobedJence
to parents i 1 - cited as home-thing which brings the
offender to a bad end, but not as an offence punishable
bv :

In we can see the growth cf the

.-y. Whereas in the story

le family i- held guilty for the sin of

descendants suffer for

_ S. 21), the law of Deutero-

?jt actual tranB-

-.d Jeiemiah insist that " the son

shall not bear the inicj . neither shall the

The soul that
sinneth, it sha;. - - ^ -, }

Husband and Wife. Throughout the OT polygamy

piattif.ed. The wife
.th a mar?-. : nd became part

husband s j/j- .-p -:ly. In the f -he

:t cf hi-, wealth. Th - humane legis-
: rotection of the

child.- .ured wife. The same law-bock

requiring some
. a proper legal

_ ; .j. Yet we should err in Bupposing

.-ition was only that of a slave. In

. Ln. 21i.- t it . hat no woman,

as a slave or taken captive m

^var, may be s/.!d into elaveiy wh ^n once her master

hips with her.

| ways able to win

nding influence, as : -n by the etory

of L>ebori>i" and the picture of the good housewife in

p r -j - prophetic- movement

.wards monogamy. Hosea fcees in his love for

ymbol of GvJ s patient love for

t hpeaks of the time when

.-od, as a bride in the love of her

. Malachi protests that divorce is

-.v;U (2iC). And in the story of

rriajre (Gen. 2; 4 ) our lyjrd found

:atent the principle of the ideal union between

..-.oman (Wk. 102ff.).

At. to the actual marriage ceremony we have little

- .n. It apjx-are to have been a purely

- . and was not accompanied by any religious

h customs as are mentioned the bringing

of the bride to her husband s home, richly dressed and

accompanied by troops of rejoicing friends (Ps. 45

Ls. 40it) resemble Oriental practices of the present

dar. The Son? of Songs is very probably a series of

lyrio-E eung during the" week of wedding festivities

(pp. 4lhi.f.

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

109

The Home. The oldest form of dwelling spoken of
in the OT is the tent. According to tradition the
ancestors of Israel were tent-dwellers, and the memory
of this time remained long afterwards in the proverb,
" To your tents, Israeli" (2 S. 20i). In its simple
fonn the tent was of one compartment only, separated
into two by a hanging curtain screening the women s
apartment "from the public room. Long after the
settlement in Canaan the Kenites (Jg. 4i;), as well
as the Rechabites (Jer. 3-Jo-io), remained true to their
ancestral customs and dwelt in tents. A richer family
would possess a number of tents (Gen. 2467, 3133).
Like the tent, the peasants houses consisted often of
one room only, with floors of beaten mud. Larger
houses had two rooms separated by a court. .Large
families might have a number of courts with rooms
opening out of them, for the accommodation of the
several households. The upper room spoken of in
Jg. 820 (Heb. " upper chamber of cooling "), as also
in 2 K. 4 10, was an additional story raised above the
flat roof of the house at one corner, or upon a tower-
like annex to the building. The battlement or
parapet (Dt. 22s) guarded the part of the roof which
was left open, and was used either for recreation or
for household purposes (Jos. 26, Jg. 1627, 1 S. 9251.,
Jer. 19is). The roof was reached by a ladder or rough
staircase passing up the outside of the house, or along
one of the walls of the court. In later days the
prophets lament the growing luxury of the rich, who
built themselves houses of hewn stone (Am. 5n), with
spacious chambers, panelled with cedar (Hag. 13*), and
lavishly adorned (Jer. 2 2i3f.). In the prophets also we
find references to silken cushions and divans with frames
inlaid with ivory (Am. 812, 64), marks of a luxury
foreign to the simpler traditions of Israel. The win
dows were not of glass, but consisted of a frame of
lattice acioss the lower half (1 K. 64), the upper part
being either barred or left open. In large houses a
doorkeeper guarded the entrance (2 S. 46, RVm),
sleeping at night in a small room just within the
entrance. His position outside the life of the family
is referred to in Ps. 84 10. The doorways were often
highly ornamented (Is. 54i2), whilst, according to the
law of Dt. 69. sentences from Scripture were inscribed
upon the posts.

Inheritance. According to Hebrew theory the whole
land was the gift of God to the people, and was divided
amongst the tribes so as to secure a share to each
family and clan (Nu. 32-34, Jos. 14i-s, 18i-io). To
this ancestral land the Israelite felt himself bound by
the closest ties. The tenacity with which Nabcth
clung to the inheritance of his fathers illustrates the
strength of this principle (1 K. 21), and the horror
excited by Ahab s tyrannical disregard of it contri
buted largely to the success of the rebellion of Jehu.
In the law of the year of Jubile (Lev. 2o) provision is
made that land shall not be finally alienated from its
original proprietors. Purchase of land is thus reduced
to the granting of a lease of fifty years at the longest.
It is very doubtful whether this law, which occurs
only in the later Codes, was ever effectually enforced.
The denunciations of the earlier prophets (cf. Is. 5s)
suggest that it could not be appealed to in their days.
But the right of pre-emption and the power of purchase
by a kinsman is referred to in Jer. 326fF., and is un
doubtedly an ancient custom.

The natural heir of the family estate was the eldest
son. There are indeed many stories which show how
younger sons succeeded to their fathers influence ;
we need only mention such names as Isaac, Ephraim,
Solomon. But the law of Dt. insists on the right of

the firstborn to a share twice as large as that of his
brothers, and seeks to protect him against the designs
of a favourite wife (2115-17). We have no means of
deciding whether the landed property was divided.
It is most likely that it passed to the eldest son, who
would make some kind of provision for his brothers.
To him also passed the obligation of maintaining any
unmarried female members of the family.

The Priestly Code (Xu. 275-10) gives a formal state
ment of the law of inheritance. Where there were
no sons the property passed to daughters, failii.g them
to brothers, failing brothers to uncles, and failing them
to the next of kin on the father s side. As the wife
became a member cf the husband s clan, her own
relatives are not recognised in the distribution of
property. Heiresses were expected to marry into their
own clan (Xu. 366), and a member of another clan
marrying an heiress joined her clan (Ezr. 2ei, Xeh.
Tes). The meaning of these provisions is obvious.

Instances are not wanting where, as with the Arabs
before Mohammed, a widow could be inherited like
the rest of a man s property (cf. - S. 162off. ). Levirate
marriage (Dt. 2o5ii.*) provided that a childless widow
should be retained as a member of her husband s clan
by marriage with his brother or kinsman. Failing
this she might return to her own family (Lev. 22i3,
Ru. Isf.), where she was free to marry again. Such
provisions must often have failed in securing her
interests, and Dt. lOiS, 24i7, 27i9, as well as the
prophets (Is. Ii7, 102. Jer. 76, 223, etc.), present her
claims to compassion with much earnestness.

The whole purpose of these laws and customs was
to secure the economic independence of the family,
by ensuring perpetual access to the land, and by
preventing any such absolute property in land as
would permit the building up of great estates exclusively
held. The growth of commercialism and other social
causes made this ideal impracticable. But the way in
which it recurs in the latest strata of legislation shows
its constant attraction for the Hebrew mind.

Education. Xo schools are spoken of in the OT.
The " Schools of the Prophets " were associations or
brotherhoods of men united by a common zeal for the
God of Israel, and we have no traces of any literary
activities in connexion with them. That the people
were by no means illiterate may be conjectured from
the written record left by the workmen who excavated
the tunnel from the Virgin s Spring to the pool of
Siloam in the days of Hezekiah. Amongst the writ
ing prophets, Amos and Micah sprang from the ranks
of the people. Regular officials kept the royal annals.
Is. lOig refers to trees so few " that a child could write
them."

In the main, however, the parents were the chief
teachers of their children and the home the only school.
The moral instruction of the children is emphasized as
one of the weightiest obligations of the father. Within
the home there was to be constant conversation about
the claims of Yahweh and remembrance of His redeem
ing acts (Dt. 67, HIQ). The recurrence of national
festivals served to introduce the recital of the provi
dential history of the past (Ex. l. isff, Ps. 784!?). The
part taken by the mother is mentioned in Pr. 620, 31 1.

It would appear that the sons of prominent men
were placed under the care of guardians who would
naturally be teachers also (2 K. 10i,5, 1 Ch. 2732).

Apart from these scanty references it may be safely
conjectured that instruction was given at the various
sanctuaries by the priests who were the natural
guardians of the knowledge of the day. The Israelites
entered in! , a land which was already a seat of an

110

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

ancient civilisation, as the excavations at Gczer and
elsewhere make manifest. Statesmen, annalists,
physicians, prophets must all have acquired the know
ledge needful for their calling, and schools of some sort
must have been present. The class of " Wise Men "
whose sayings are preserved in Pr. and who are spoken
of in EC. may have given oral teaching at least, as did
the contemporary Sophists in Greece.

Hospitality. This is so marked a feature of Oriental
life that it deserves mention. A guest is sacred and
his person inviolable. Narratives like Gen. ISif,
2431, Ex. 220, show the sense of this duty. Offences
against the law of hospitality were sternly punished
(Jg. 20). In Ps. 23s, l- r. 18io, the security of those
who are the guests of Cod is strikingly expressed.

The law of the gcr or sojourner, the resident foreigner
(Lev. 17sf.*, Dt. 1x6*, 10i8, 142Q, etc., Mai. 85), is an
extension of this thought. He dwelt under the protec
tion of the family or the tribe, and therefore under the
care of the God in whose land he was a guest. The
story of the Gibeonites (Jos. 9) shows how this status,
even when acquired by fraud, was sacredly respected,
though service might be required in return.

Slaves. Throughout the OT period slaves were
regular members of Hebrew household-;. Many of
these were foreigners, either prisoners of war or ac
quired by purchase. Although they ranked as the
properly of their masters they had rights which wero
carefully safeguarded by legislation and custom (Ex. 2i
20 f. 26f.). A female slave could be incorporated into
the family by marriage (Dt. 2lioif.); a slave might
marry his master s daughter (1 Cli. 2.341.) ; and in case
there was no sou might inherit the property (Oen. 1521.).
Furt her regulations ensured Hie participation of slaves
both in the sabbath rest and in the grc.i t festivals (Ex.
20 10, Dt. 12i8, Kin). Even the nmaway slave was
taken under the protection of the law (Dt. 2, ii6).
Slavery in most countries has been productive of
many social evils. As safeguarded in Israel it pro
duced many benefits. It provided for the gradual
incorporation of many aliens into the national life and
so assimilated the heterogeneous peoples of Palestine;
it afforded a safe position to many who might other
wise have become vagrants ; and it developed the spirit
of benevolence. Kindness to slaves was counted
amongst the chief virtues of an upright man (,Job 30
13, Pr. 30 1 o). The presence of J-Iebrew slaves was
caused by family misfortunes. Children of struggling
families might be sold into slavery to keep the patri
mony intact. In the disorganisation caused by the
wars in the times of the monarchy, and through dearth
and famine, many families were reduced to destitution.
Debtors, and thieves who weie unable to make restitu
tion, could be sold (Ex. 222. 2 K. 4i, Am. 26, 86, etc.).
The law of the Book of the Covenant, limited the length
of a Hebrew s servitude to six years (Ex. 21 2). From
Jer. 34s-i7 it is clear that this merciful provision was
often overridden. Post-exilic legislation held it in
tolerable that a Hebrew .should be kept as a slave by
one of his own nation, and required that ho should be
treated as a hired servant (Lev. 253off.). In the spirit
of this legislation Nehemiah intervened to redeem the
Jewish slaves of foreign masters (Neh. 85-8). The
words of Lev. 2541 " He shall return unto his own
family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall ho
return " show the persistence of the ancient ideal of
a nation of families, each possessing its own share of
the land, an ideal which neither slavery nor misfortune
had been able to destroy.

Mourning. The usual disposal of the dead was by
burial (Gen. 23ig, etc.). To burn a dead body is re

garded in Am. 2i as a sin against common humanity
meriting the punishment of Yahweh. The bodies of
notorious wrong-doers were in some cases burnt as an
aggravation of the penalty of death (Jos. 725, Lev. 20
14, 21 7). In connexion with funeral ceremonies the
ordinary Oriental practices were followed ; hired
mourners added their lamentations (Am. 5x6, Jer. 9i;.
Ee. 12,-s) ; outward signs of grief such as the rending of
garments, wearing of sackcloth, and sprinkling earth
upon the head are freely named (2 S. 33if , loig).
Besides these practices there are references to certain
cuttings and shaving of portions of the head as existent
down to at least the time of Jeremiah (Jer. 166, 41.S,
Am. 810, Is. 324, 22i2). These practices are forbidden
in Dt, Liif., Lev. 1923*. They undoubtedly had
heathen associations, and may have been designed to
help in concluding a covenant with the departed, at
whose grave the shed blood or cut hair might be offered ;
or, as Kautzsch conjectures, may go back to an ani
mistic stage where it was desired to make the living
unrecognisable by the malevolent spirits of the dead.
Whatever the original meaning may have been, the
motive of the prohibition in Dfc. is the reminder that
the Israelites are the children of Yahweh, and must not
imitate the manners of the surrounding peoples.

B. THE LIFE OF TRADE AND COMMERCE

The land of Palestine is singularly well situated for
the home of a busy trading community. Northwards
through lii.. Lebanon* there was access to the great
empires of Mesopotamia ; on the south-west there waa
constant communication with Egypt, whilst caravan
routes connected it with Arabia on the south ; on the
west lay the Mediterranean Sea and the road to Europe.
In the ancient world the land was thus a meeting-place
of many of the chief lines of communication.

Yet for a largo part of the history of Israel these
advantages were of little service to the Hebrews.
Through almost all the history a belt of foreign territory
;;.-d the people from the sea-coast. It was not
till 1 14 n.r. that the port of Joppa passed into the pos
session of Israel. The way in which the sea is pictured
throughout the OT as the symbol of a power hostile
to God and to man (Is. 17i2i f., Job 7i2, Ps. 93, etc.),
shows how foreign this element was to the genius of
the Israelites, though the northern tribes may have
made some maritime ventures (Gen. 49i3). Moreover
idealistic pictures, siuii as that of Jos. 2143-44, which
represent the invading tribes as securing possession of
the whole land, have to be coiTccted by the more sober
records of the Book of Judges. There we see how the
separate tribes, after the death of Joshua, had to fight
to secure their territory and were compelled to leave
many of the stronger Canaanitish cities unconquered.
In the end, besides the maritime cities of Phoenicia
and Philistia, a strong line of fortresses Taanach,
Megiddo, Bethshan secured to their former inhabi
tants the richest inland plain, the valley of the Kishon.
Further south the strongholds of Ajalon, Gezer, and
Jebus shut off almost completely the tribes of Judah
and Benjamin from the rest of the Israelites. The
masters of these fortresses made communication dan
gerous (cf. Jg. 5of.). Not till the days of the monarchy
was Israel able to enjoy the natural advantages of its
country. Thus though the Israelites entered a land
which, as the Amarna letters show, was in the main
route of a great trade between Egypt and Northern
Syria and Babylonia, and though some of the fruits of
that trade were amongst the prizes which they won
(cf. Jos. "21, Dt. 6iof.), they themselves were driven oft

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

111

the main lines and were for a long time confined chiefly
to agricultural and pastoral occupations.

Pastoral and Agricultural Life. The stories of
Genesis depict the ancestors of Israel as living a simple
pastoral life. The laws of the Book of the Covenant
are directed to n. people which has passed a little beyond
this stage. Most of them refer to agricultural con
ditions, and none of them has to do with conditions of
life in walled towns. We must think of scattered
groups of families and clans, settling down on the con
quered estates, living the lives of shepherds and hus
bandmen. Pictures of the laborious life of the shep
herd, with the constant exposure to extremes of heat
and cold, and the need of long night watchings, are
found in Gen. 31 4 o (cf. 1 S. 17 3 4ff., Ezek. 34jff.). The
numbering of the cattle as they pass beneath the
shepherd s rod (Lev. 2732, Ezek. 2637), the gathering
of the herds into the folds (Nu. 32i6), their defence
against marauding wild beasts (Jer. 49io), give
glimpses of the doily work and are used freely as
symbols of religious truth.

The year of the agriculturist was divided into the
dry season, April to October, within which months fell
all the harvests, and the wet season, October to April,
marked by the early and the latter rains. Methods of
cultivation have changed little in the East up to the
present day, and do not call for detailed notice. In
Is. 2823-29 the simple art of the farmer is ascribed to
the teaching wisdom of God and made to illustrate the
Divine dealings with men. There three distinct
methods of threshing are mentioned. We have the
boating with a flail (Jg. 611, Ru. 17) ; treading with
the feet of cattle (Dt. 254, Mic. 413) ; drawing a heavy
wooden sledge, with sharp stones or iron spikes fixed
beneath it, or a wagon with sharp-edged wheels, over
the grain.

The cultivation of the vine was very general, some
times (cf. Is. 723-25). on mountainous lands over which
the plough could not be drawn, which had to be pre
pared for sowing by the hoe or mattock. The wine
press consisted mostly of two troughs of different
levels, often hewn out of the solid rock (Is. 53). The
trampling of the grapes, with the staining of the gar
ments of the treaders, affords the terrible figure of
Is. 682. The various processes in the making of wine
may be illustrated by a few references. The freshly
expressed grape juice might be drunk at once before
fermentation began. In this sense the vats are said
to overflow with " new wine " or " must " (.11. 224).
Before wine, properly so called, was made, it was
drawn off from the vats and left for the lees to settle.
This process was repeated several times, with succes
sive pourings from vessel to vessel, until the colour and
body was sufficiently fixed. The product was then
" wine on the lees well refined " (Is. 256). If, on the
other hand, it was left standing too long on the lees it
became thick and syrupy, lacking the sparkle of the
better wines, and soon turning bad. It is from this
that the metaphor of Jer. 4Su, Zeph. Ii2, is derived.
Wine left undisturbed in this way took the coarser taste
and smell of the leos, just as Moab s freedom from dis
cipline had confirmed it in its ancient faults, and the men
of Jerusalem had .settled down in sloth and unbelief.

Many references show how the social life of the
people found its most joyous expression in celebrating
the first-fruits of flock, herd, and field, and in rejoicing
over the successive harvests of corn, fruit, oil and wine.
(For the religious significance of these feasts see pn.
98, 101-104.)

Trades, With the growth of city life came the
development of the ordinary trades. The Bedouins

of to-day practise no trades but those of the smith and
the worker in leather. This was probably the case in
the early days of Israel, where all that was needful for
the clothing of the family and for the simple furniture
of the house was made at home(r/. 1 S. 2io, and much
later Pr. Slisff. ). But with the growth of larger com
munities the division of labour became necessary. In
the fashion common in the East separate streets were
occupied by workers in cne trade, cf. "the bakers
street " in Jer. 372 1. The Chronicler speaks of localities
that were the scat of special trades, such as " the
valley of craftsmen," the workers in fine linen of Beth
Ashbea, the potters of Net-aim and Gederah (1 Ch. 4i^,
21,23). In Keh. 3s we find references to families of
goldsmiths and apothecaries, or dealers in perfumes.
The earlier prophetic references to trade are not sym
pathetic, and the besetting sins of business are often
castigated (Am. 26, 4i, 84ff., Mic. 2f., etc.). Through
such passages there breathes the regret for the older
a,nd simpler life. But Isaiah s picture of Tyre (23)
looks forward to the day when the gain of her com
merce shall be consecrated to Yahwch. In later
Judaism it wa counted part of the duty of every
father to teach his son a trade.

Commerce. Foreign trade in Israel hardly bega.n
until the victories of David over Philistia, Moab,
Ammon and Edom gave him the command of the
trade-routes to the south and east, and made com
mercial intercourse with Tyre possible (2 8. Si if,).
Under Solomon a great extension took place. Solomon
kept control of the caravan route leading through
Edom to Elath, the modern Akaba, on the NE. arm of
the Red Sea. From there his navy, manned by Phoe
nician sailors, sailed to Ophir, situated most likely in
Eastern Arabia on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
With Sheba, known in later days as the seat of a com
mercial empire in the SW. of Arabia, he conducted a
land trade. As the text of 1 K. 1028 stands he had an
extensive trade in horses with Egypt. But it is pro
bable that the real seat of this trade lay far north, in
Cappadocia and Cilicia. As exports we read of honey,
balm, wheat, and oil to Phoenicia (1 K. 5n, Ezek. 27i7) :
as well as spice, myrrh, nuts, and almonds to Egypt
(Gen. 3725, 43n). The long list of imports in 1 K. 10
10-25 includes gold, silver, precious stones, timber,
ivory, horses and mules, apes and peacocks, and
armour. There seems so great a disparity between the
value of the imports and exports that other sources for
Solomon s wealth must be sought. It seems clear that
behind the confused text of 1 K. 10 15 there lies an
allusion to a tariff levied on the commerce carried on
in Solomon s sphere of influence. He would derive a
large income from custom dues imposed on the transit
trade between Arabia and the Levant. Along these
routes he possessed etore-cities, arsenals containing
materials of war, as well as magazines of provisions
and emporia of trade (1 K. 9ig). It is an interesting
question how far the people as a whole participated in
this trade, and how far it remained a royal preroga
tive. The fact that " Canaanite " or " Phoenician "
means "trader" in Jcb 416, Pr. 3124, and that in
IIos. 127, Zeph. In, "Canaan" is used for "the
merchant people." suggests that the early trade of
Israel was largely carried on by Phoenicians, who
would be the paid servants of the king. But from
1 K. 2034 we learn that Ahab secured for his subjects
trading rights in Damascus. After Solomon s death
the growing power of Syria, as well as the divisions
between Israel and Jndah, caused a great shrinkage of
foreign trade. Judah soon lost the route to the R-ed
Sea, though Jehoshaphat made a fruitless attempt to

112

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISEAEL

renow the trade with Opiiir (1 K. 2248). Later, after
the conquests of Jeroboam II, trade revived again.
Isaiah draws many pictures of the busy commercial life
in Judah. " They strike hands with the children of
strangers," and the land is full of foreign products
(2ef.); ships of Tarshish are mentioned (2i6) : while
the caravaus that trafficked with Egypt are scathingly
described (30o). It seems plain that by this time the
community as a whole had become a trading one.
Many social consequences resulted, notably the break
ing up of many of the old ancestral estates, and the
replacement of the farmers by men who had grown rich
through trade (Is. fwff.). The depopulation of rural
districts, so often the result of a new industrialism, is
bitterly reproved by the prophets.

A sign cf this industrial progress is furnished by the
regulations of the Deuteronomic Code with regard to
the taking of interest. The Book of the Covenant had
forbidden the taking of interest on money lent to the
poor (Ex. 22-5). The thought of mcney lent for com
mercial purposes was not present. In Dt. 2819 the
taking of interest from a brother Israelite is still for
bidden, but it is now permitted in the case of a foreigner.
The Bedouins of the present day still refrain from taking
interest from a countryman. The taking of interest
had been long familiar in the East, and is mentioned in
the Code of Hammurabi ( 49, 50, 100), but though
permitted under restrictions it seems always to have
been against the ideal conscience of Israel. It is men
tioned with disapproval in Ezek. 1 8s, 13, 17, 22 12,
Pr. 28s, Ps. log. The law of Dt. opened the door to
a practice which never obtained general approval, at
least until much later times. Tj;r law of Dt. (lf>if.)
as to the cancelling of debts in the " year of release :
refers to charitable loans, not lendings for business
purposes. When, later, this law was held to i,-fer also
to loans contracted in commerce, it was found to be
impracticable, and devices for evading its provisions
were invented.

During the Babylonian Exile the Jew.-* came into con
tact with a system of banking and of partnerships for
trading purposes held to bo tin- origin of our modern
commercial system. Each partner cont ributed his share
of capital to the association. The exiles were coun
selled by Jeremiah to take their share in the life of the
land to which they had been carried (294ff.), and must
have become acquainted with these customs. Yet it
is plain from the Priestly Code that its compilers had
little sympathy with or understanding of such metlKds.
They fall back on the old ideal of a simple agricultural
community, and the laws concerning property show
little variation from those of the earliest Code. The
depressed and poverty-stricken conditions at Jeru
salem are reflected in the prophecies of !la<_rgai and
Zechariah, though Kaggai clings to the hope" of the
day when the wealth of the nations will be poured into
the Temple (27). The later chapters of Zech. hope for
the time when foreign traders will be banished for ever
from the holy city (14ai). This spirit, the product cf
the new legalism, must have seriously hindered any
development of trade in Jud.- h.

The growth of the commercial instincts which have
given the Jewish race its preponderating influence in
the trade of the world must be sought in the Disper
sion, at Alexandria and Antioch and elsewhere.
Numerous indications of this may be found in Ecclus.
and Josephus, but they fall outside the limits of the OT.

A word may be added as to the great market-fairs
held at the chief sanctuaries in conjunction with tho
religious festivals. It was probably as a trader in
wool that Amos was present at Bethel when his pro

phetic activity began (Am. 7io ff.). From the blessing
on Zebulun and Issachar (Dt. 33i3f.), it appears that
these northern tribes held sacrificial feasts at which
many foreigners were present. There the products of
fishing and sea-borne commerce, and possibly glass
from the sand about Akko were offered for sale.

0. THE COMMUNTTY

Law and Justice. The early beginnings of govern-
ment have been traced under the section on the Family.
With the gathering of families into clans and tribes,
and during settled life in Palestine, moro detailed
arrangements became necessary. In the story of the
desert wanderings (Ex. 1813-27, Dt. lisf.), Moses is
said to have organised the people for judicial purposes
under capable men of approved character. No trace
of this arrangement appears in later days. On the other
hand " the elders" (Ex. 3 16*), either heads of families
or the leading inhabitants of a particular district or
city, appear in almost every period of the history. In
Dt. 19i2 they constitute the local authority charged
to adminster the law in a case of murder ; in 1 S. 4
they act on behalf of the people in a time of national
dauber ; in 2 S. 5_3 they offer the crown to David ; in
1 K. 2l8fr. the ciders of Jezreel act on behalf of Jezebel
and inflict and cany out the sentence on Nabotli. No
indications are given as to the mode of their appoint
ment. Their authority was moral rather than legal.
Their executive powers may be illustrated from Dt. 21
iff., 22i5ff. The justice of their actions might be
affirmed in the presence of the priests, and in the
death-penalty the whole community united to carry
out the sentence (Dt. 17;).

In the period of the " Judges " we are presented
with a picture of a series of leaders ruling with an
authority which was personal, and not a matter of
descent or family influence. Amongst them appears
Deborah the prophetess, who sat beneath a palm tree
and decided the causes of the people in accordance
with the common law of Israel (Jg. 45). The position
of Samuel is similar (1 S. 7i.5if.). His authority as
representative of Yahweh is spoken of as acknow
ledged by the people as a whole.

According to 2 Ch. 194~n Jchoshaphat is said to
have organised a judicial system throughout Judah,
with a court of appeal at Jerusalem for both civil and
ecclesiastical cases. It is possible that this passage
reflects the developed practice of post-exilic times, but
the mention of " judges " amongst the pillars of the
state in Is. 32, as well as the references in Mic. 73,
Zeph. 3s, shows that some judicial system had grown
up. In Ezr. 725, 10i4, we find professional judges
drawn from the ranks of the city elders. Later, during
the Greek and Roman periods, there were local courts
beside the council of the elders. ThGjtroccdure of the
courts was simple. They might "meet" inTKe open
(Jg. 4s), or at the gate of the city, the common place
for transacting business or administering justice (Dt. 21
19, Am. f>i2,i5). Two witnesses were required for
confirmation of a charge (Dt. 17e, 19is). In tho
absence of witnesses the accused was put on his oath
(Ex. 227-n). One case of trial by ordeal is named,
that of a wife accused of adultery (Nu. 5nf ). The
oldest principle of punishment is the lex talionis, " eye
for eye, tooth for tooth " (Ex. 2124). This was largely
modified by a system of monetary compensation. In
some instances (Ex. 2130) the common Oriental custom
was followed whereby the consent of tho injured parties
was required before a fine could be accepted in lieu of
the severer penalty. In other cases the amount of tha

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF ISRAEL

113

fine was fixed (Ex. 2132, Dt. 2219,29). No money
payment was allowed to cover the guilt of wilful
murder. The duty of blood revenge was hold sacred
from the most ancient times (Gen. 9;>f.). Even the
later Codes recognise the place and duty of the avenger
of blood (Dt. 19i-i3, Nu. 8016-21). In practice this
was modified by the right of asylum, at first at any
sanctuary (Ex. 21 14), and later at the " cities of refuge."
Such a story as 2 S. 144ff. shows that when regular
tribunals began to be established they took blood ven
geance under their control. But the story of the exe
cution of Saul s descendants in 2 S. 21 shows how the
thought of blood revenge as a sacred religious duty
lingered on, and how, before the individual had become
distinguished from his family, this might bring disaster
to innocent men. On the other hand the clear dis
tinction drawn between wilful and accidental homicide
shows how the sense of right prevailed over the older
thought of " blood for blood " without discrimination.

Other penalties such as stripes (Dt. 203), imprison
ment (Jer. 37i5ff., etc.), and the stocks (Jer. 202), do
not call for detailed notice. The reason given in Dt.
for the limitation of the number of strokes to forty is
noteworthy. No punishment was to be inflicted which
would degrade or destroy the manhood of the offender
(203). The formula " that soul shall be cut off from
Israel," which occurs very frequently in P., appears to
mean excommunication, combined with a threat of
Divine interposition to root out the wrong-doer. In
Ezr. 10s,- where the phrase is not used but the case is
similar, it means both confiscation of property and
social and religious outlawry.

Of legal forms the simplest that is recorded is that
where the seller gives his shoe to the buyer in token of
his divesting himself of the right of ownership (Ru. 47;
cf. Ps. 60s). In Jer. 3261T. we have the record of a
formal deed of sale. Parallels from Babylonian
sources make it probable that the deed was first written
and signed, then executed in duplicate on the envelope
or outer covering in which the original deed was en
closed, and then sealed in the presence of witnesses and
deposited in safe custody. In this case the deed was
placed in an earthen vessel, as was frequently the case
with Babylonian and Assyrian deeds.

The " bill of divorcement " has been already referred
to.

The Monarchy. The founding of the monarchy
marks so clearly the dividing line between the new
Israel and the old that it is not surprising that widely
differing views were taken as to its value. According
to the old ideal Yahweh was the only King and the
priests His highest earthly representatives. In times
of national need a Judge would be raised up to rally
and lead the armies. But when his special task was
over there was no thought that his office was heredi
tary. When the kingship was offered to Gideon he
replied, " I will not rule over you, neither shall my
son rule over you : Yahweh shall rule over you "
(Jg. 822! .). From this standpoint the creation of the
kingdom was regarded as an act of apostasy and a
sinful imitation of heathen nations (1 S. 84ff. ). On
the other hand the king was regarded as " the Lord s
anointed and his person deemed sacrosanct and in
violate (1 S. 24e, i o). This latter view persists in the
hopes that attached to the house of David (2 S. 7i2) ;
in the prophetic pictures of the King-Messiah (Is. 9t>ff.,
Zech. 9g, etc.) ; and in Pss. such as 2, 89i9ff., 110. On
the other hand in Deutero-Tsaiah s visions of the future
there is no room for an earthly king ; Yahweh is the
only Saviour. Similarly in Ezek. 40-48 the secular
head is the " Prince," whose prerogatives are strictly

limited (457ff., 46i6ff.), his main duties being to make
due provision for the sacrifices. The Prince is far
removed from the earlier king. In the Priestly Code
the high-priest is the supremo head of the community.
Not till the reign of Simon the priest-king (143-135 B.C.)
did these two streams of thought really unite, and even
then the union was soon broken by the dissensions of
the first century B.C.

The monarchy once established was regarded as
hereditary, in strong contrast with the view taken of
the Judges. Ishbosheth naturally succeeded his father
Saul (2 S. 2sf.). David was appointed king not so
much by the free ehcice of the people as from the belief
that God had taken away the kingdom from Saul s
house and bestowed it on David s. Two sons of David,
Adonijah and Solomon, sought to succeed him. Later
dynastic changes, dispossessing the ruling house, wero
brought about by prophetic influence, as by Abijah
(1 K. 1 l2off.), and Elisha (2 K. 9 iff.). Still the broken
annals of Northern Israel show the force of the popular
will. If the kingship was never elective it never was
able to become completely despotic.

Of royal revenues we read nothing during the simple
rule of Saul. Under David (2 S. 2024) an officer is
mentioned as over the labour-gangs (RV " tribute "),
pointing to the system of forced labour universally
employed in the East for public works. Solomon
largely extended this system (1 K. 9isff.), and in addi
tion divided the land into twelve administrative dis
tricts from which monthly supplies were exacted for
the court. Besides the trade dues (p. Ill), horse.s
and chariots wero Solomon s monopoly (1 K. lOaSff. ).
The picture of kingly rule in 1 S. 8 speaks of -crown
lands (12,14; cf. 1 Ch. 2725fT.), and of tithes both on
produce and flocks (15,17). Under special stress
Jehoiakim is said to have imposed a property tax
(2 K. 2335). Amos (7i) speaks of " the king s mow
ings," probably a contribution in kind for the royal
horses. The complaints of the people to Rehoboam
(1 K. 124), show how bitterly the oppressive imposts
and forced services were resented.

Around the king, from the time of David onwards,
there grew up a group of state officials. The " scribe "
was responsible for the royal correspondence, the
keeping cf records, and the preparation of state
documents. The " recorder " or remembrancer was
charged to bring important matters of state to the
notice of the king. He may have represented the
Grand Vizier of modern times. The officer " over
the household " (1 K. 46), entrusted with the key of
the palace (Is. 2222), may be called High Chamberlain
or Steward. The title of " king s servant " (2 K. 22i2)
has been found on an ancient Hebrew seal, and may
stand for a distinct office. The multiplication of these
offices created a new aristocracy, diminishing the im
portance of the older heads of families, and so by
severing the ruling classes from the soil accentuated
the social distinctions. It also gave opportunity for
the bribery and oppression so constantly stigmatised
by the prophets. Thus the monarchy tended increas
ingly to repress the growth of the free life of the indi
vidual Israelite. Against this must be set the services
which it rendered in enabling the nation to resist
foreign invasion. At the same time the way in which
the ambitions and disputes of successive kings involved
Israel in world polities led in the long run to the over
throw of the St tte. The protests of Isaiah against the
alliances with Assyria aud Egypt (7, 31), show how
the iriRieht of the prophets perceived the consequences
of such intrigues.

Military Service. In ancient days every man be-

114

THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OP ISRAEL

name a soldier on occasion, and the head of a family
could muster his whole household as a fighting force
(Gen. 14i4iT.). In the story of the Conquest of Canaan
every tribesman took his place in the ranks. After
the settlement and the dispersion of the tribes succes
sive leaders rallied wlv.t forces they could to their
standards ; so Barak (Jg. 4io if.). In the days of Saul,
after the deliverance of Jabesh-gilead, we in id the first
beginnings of a standing army. Three thousand men
were selected as a permanent national guard, and
stationed in positions especially open to Philistine
attack (1 S. l;5r). We now read of military officers,
amongst whom was David (1 S. 1813). But every
man capable of bearing arms was still counted as a
soldier.

David, as king, carried the organisation further.
His personal bodyguard of six hundred men, beginning
from the company of refugees who had gathered round
him at Adul am. was supplemented by a force of foreign
mercenaries, " Chcrethites and Pclethites " (2 S. 818),
probably Cretans and Philistines. ,lo:ib now ap]
as holder of a new office, that of commander-in-chief
(1 Ch. 1 lf>). The " ( antes " in 1: K. 1 1 4 are another body
of mercenaries acting as the roya! lifeguard, keeping
the palace and the Temple. Si ill i ne old idea of a
national militia was never abandoiud and appears in
P (Nu. L O I! ). Priests and Lcviles v. ere exempted from
militarv service (Xu. 233). The humane law of Dr.
exempts from r-ervice in any particular campaii/u mi u
newly married or bet rot in ii, or those who svero just
entering into the possession of ,-, ni \v liou i; e or c.late
(Dt, 245, 20>5-R). It is probable thai Am. 03 refers to
a system which gre\v up during the Infer monarchy,
whereby each township was required 1o furnish its
specified quota of men to the national army.

The forces were divided into light-armed arid lieavy-
arnvjd infantry. According to the Chronicle: (i f <i.

8/!o. 122), the Benjamites were traditionally the picked
troops amongst the former, urined \vith bows and r ings
(f/. Jg. 20i6). Amongst the latter the men of Judah
Gad, and Naputali are specially named, armed with
spear and shield (1 Ch. 11:0.2.4,34). Cavalry and v. ar-
chariots are named as forming part of the Egyptian
army (Ex. l-!r>ff.), also amongst the Canaanites (Jos. 17
1 6, etc.), and r,he Philistines (2 S. 16). The Israelites
do not a [/pear to have possessed them earlier than the
days of Solomon (1 K. Dig). Afterwards they formed a
jogular part of the Israelite army (1 K. l(5o, Is. 2?, etc.).
War was regarded in ancient times as a holy act.
and Yahweh was " the Cod. of the armies of Israel "
(1 S.1745) ; the wars of Israel were Mis wars (1 S. 2528).
Hence follow:! the practice of consulting the sacred
oracle as to the direction of a campaign (1 S. 14s7, etc.).
Similarly Ihe use of the phrase " sanctify war " (Jer.
<>4, Jl. 3o), and the stringent directions as to the purity
of the camp (Dt. 23IO-I2), reflect the same thought.
The practice of the " ban " (p. !M). Dt. 2 34 *. Jos. Gi/il*,
Jg. 117*. 1 H. 103) wherein the whole of the spoil
belonged to ^ ahweh and must be devoted as a sacrifice
to Him, finds its explanation hero. With the deepening
of Ihe ethical sense the feeling of the horrors of war was
intensified. Ruthles;-ness in war is condemned by the
prophets (Am. 13,11,13). The callousness of the war-
lords oi Assyria rou.-ed the indignation of liabakkuk.
War was ^(ij| reirarded as Vahweh a instrument of
punishment, but beyond the strife hope looked forward
to the establishment of perpetual peace (Is. Usff., 2.|,
PR. -ffio).

Literature. Mnckie. liihlc Manners and Customs* ;
Whitehouse, ,-1 Primer of Hebrew Antiquities ; Cruick-
shank. The, JiiU.r. in the LirjM of Antiquity ; Tliomson,
TJ/e Land and the /lo-i!.- ; Ben/inger, Hebraische
Arcl<:l ,/r +/)< - ; Xowaclc, LclirburJt dcr Hebrdischen
Archaologie. .Also many articles in EBi., HDB, IISDB.

WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY, AND TIME

BY PROFESSOR A. II. S. KENNEDY, D.D.

I. Measures of Length

, __

Value

Name.

Finger-
breadth.

Hand-
breadth.

Span.

Cubit,

Hoed.

iii
Inches.

Fing-er-b eadth
Hand-breadth

1
4

1

733
2"J3

Span

12

15

1

8-8

Cubit

24

G

i

17 -0

Reed

144

36

12

6

1

105-6

Mankind s) earliest measures of length were thoso of
Nature s own providing the finger, hand, foot, etc.
Thus the widespread unit called the cubit is the length
of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle
finger. It was reckoned by the ancients as one-fourth
of a man s height, which again was equal to hia
" stretch " (see " fathom " below). In Dt. 3n thin
" natural " cubit is termed " the cubit of a man."
Originally it was probably identical with the corre
sponding"" natural " cubit of the Egyptians (c. 17 7in.),
and was divided into 6 hand-breadths or palms, eacli
of 4 finger-breadths or digits.

Measurements of the remains of Herpdian and pre-
Herodian architecture in Jerusalem yield a cubit of
17-G in. (for details see Exp. Times, xx. [1908-9], 24ff.)
which is the value adopted in the table above. For
rough calculations it may be reckoned at 1 feet.
This result is in close agreement with that obtained
from the Siloam aqueduct, the length of which ia
given in the well-known inscription as, in round
numbers, 1200 cubits. The actual measured length is
approximately 1750 ft., or 1193 of the cubit of 17-6 in.
That the Jewish cubit in common use in NT times
cannot have differed much from the corresponding
Grojco-Roman measure (c. 17^ in.) is evident from a
comparison of Ac. Ii2 with Josephus, Ant. XIX,
xvii. 6. In the former passage the distance of the
Mount of Olives from Jerusalem is given as "a sabbath
day s journey," which was 2000 Jewish cubits (c. 980
yds.), in the latter as 5 stadia (see below), each of
400 Greek cubits.

In addition to the "natural" cubit of 177 in. the
Egyptians used the " royal " cubit of 20 G3 in., which
was ths of the other. This cubit has hitherto been
recognised in the so-called " cubit of Ezekiel," which,
on the basis of Ezek. 40s, 43i3, is reckoned as contain
ing seven handbreadths, say 20 53 in. This longer
cubit again is usually identified with " the former
measure " in terms of which the Temple of Solomon
was built (2 Ch. 03). But there are textual and
archaeological difficulties in this, the generally accepted,
view, and it is safer to abide meanwhile by the above
results obtained from actual measurements. It is
probable, however, that new measures, as well as new
weights (see below), were introduced in the Persian
period, and the Persian cubit of c. 20-7 in. may still

have been in official use in the time of the Chronicler,
c. 300 i;.c. In this case the expression " former
measure " would refer to the shorter " natural cubit
of Deuteronomy and the Siloam inscription.

In the NT " fathom " and " furlong " represent the
Greek orguia (lit. " stretch ") and the popular stadion,
the former 6 and the latter GOO Greek ft., say 5 ft.
10 in. and 194 yds. respectively of our measures. The
" mile " of Mt. 641 is the Iloman tuille pas-mum, or
1000 double paces, equal to 1018 yds.

II. Measures of Capacity

Name.

Log-

IO.V)

Hin

Sean

Epliah-
Batli.

Cor
(homer)

Later Value
in Pints.

Log .

j

1

Kab

4

1

Hin

1

12 (H g.ills.)

Soah .
Kphah

Hath .

Cor (homer)

24

72
72

7 -JO

(5

18

ISO

G

00

1
3

KO

1

1

10

1 {

24 <H pecks)
72 (li bush.)
72 (9 frails.)
720 (11J bush.
90 gal Is.)

The names and mutual relations of the Hebrew
measures of capacity are known from the OT and
later Jewish writings, but it is as yet impossible to
cffer more than an approximate estimate of their
actual valuea in terms of our imperial measures. This
is specially true of early times ; for NT times we have
the evidence of Josephus, who repeatedly gives the
admittedly only approximate values of the Jewish
measures "in terms of the Grseco-Koman measures of
his day. In recent years finds of actual measures in
Jerusalem have tended, in the main, to confirm the
results thus obtained (see Exp. Times, xxiv. [1913],
293ff.), but it is almost certain that the measures were
originally somewhat smaller the larger ones consider
ably smaller than is represented in the table.

Of the measures there entered the log, hin, and bath
are in the OT exclusively liquid measures, while the
kab, scab, ephah the equivalent of the bath and
homer are exclusively dry measures. The cor, of the
same value as the homer, is mostly used as a dry
measure, but once as a measure of oil (Ezek. 45 14).
Traces are also found of a decimal system, of which
the lowest member is the omer, defined as " the tenth
part of the ephah " (Ex. 16 3 6), i.e. c. 7fc pints, the
ephah in turn being ^ of the homer (Ezek. I.e.).

The values in the table are those derived from
Josephus, who bases his equations on the identity of
the Hebrew unit, the log, with the xestes of the Attic,
and the scxlarius of the Roman measures. As the
estimated values of these vary from 9G to 1-009 of a
pint, the log of NT times may for all practical purposes
be reckoned as the equivalent of our pint, consequently
the seah, the " measure " of the parablo (Mt. ^833,

115

116

WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY, AND TIMS

Lk. 132i), as H pecks, and the ephah as roughly our
imperial bushel, while its liquid counterpart, the bath,
may be set down as 9 gallons, the approximate value
also of the Greek metretes, the " firkin " of Jn. 26.

III. Weights

The weights used by the Hebrews were mostly of
some hard polished stone, such as luematite or quartz -
ite, and were of throe denominations, the shekel,
the mina, and the talent. The mina contained 50
shekels, and the talent, 00 minas or 3000 shekels. This
arrangement is of Babylonian origin, as are (he names
shekel (Bab. hikli<) and mina (Ileb. i,t(in!i. Bat).
manu). In Babylonia, hov,<-ver, (50 shekels went to
the ordinary trade mina, which originally weighed
about 15,160 grains (2i lb. avoir, nearly) on the so-
called "heavy" standard, and half that amount on
the " light " standard, with corresponding shekels
of 252 and 126 grains respectively. The excavation
of numerous sites in Palestine has brought to Jiyht
hundreds of weights belonging to a variety of systems.
One of the oldest is attested by a series of small
weights, doubtless used in weighing the precious
metals, with inscriptions in old Hebrew litters. The
shekel or unit weighed about 160 grs., and it is very
probable that the Egyptian tribute of the vassaf-
states of Syria and Palestine was paid on this standard
(HDB iv. 904f.).

The standard in general use, however, among the
Hebrews, from the earliest to the latest times, was
that known as the Phoenician. Its shekel is reckoned
at 224 grs., but the average weight of the existing
coins is nearer 218 grs., the weight of a British half-
crown. It is " the shekel of the sanctuary " (more
correctly " the sacred .shekel ") of the Pentateuch,
by which gold, silver, and apparently all merchandise
were to be weighed (Lev. 27.>5). 1 The values of these
denominations are shown in the following table :

THE HEBKWV-PJKEXICIAX WEIGHT SYSTKM

Name.

Shekel. Mina.

Talent.

Value.

(ml:,
Grains.

(6) Avoird.
Weight.

Shekel .
-Mina
Talent

; o ! i
3,0oo on

1

224

11,200

(172.000

oz. nearly
i?lh.
96 lb.

In NT times this system was adjusted to the Roman
official system in such a way that the old Hebrew
shekel now termed tula, and reduced to 210 <rrs _
was reckoned to contain 4 drachms or denarius weights
(zi tzim), while the light mina of 50 light " shekels "
(half the original shekel or ad,,) was equated with the
rtoman libra or pound of 5053 grs. (Jn. 123 1939)
The original (heavy) talent, now c. (531,560 grs and
equal to two light talents, weighed exactly 12000
denarius-drachms and 125 Roman pounds (see further
under " Money " below).

To what extent the Babylonian weight-standard was
in use in Palestine cannot be ascertained. The current
view that the Hebrew gold shekel was the Babylonian
shekel of 252 grs. is based on a misinterpretation of a
passage of Josephus (see below). In a slightly modified
form, however, the Babylonian standard was in official
use in the early post-exilic period, while Palestine

n" 1 * PaSSr * S * the "l^lent of the Greek

formed part of the Persian empire. In the late gloss
2 S. 14c6, the " 200 shekels after the king s weight "
are Babylono-Persian shekels of 126-130 grs.

When the Jews passed under the rule of the Seleucid
kings of Syria, the Attic weight-system, based on a
drachm of originally 67 grs., came into use (.see below).
The Attic commercial standard, best known as the
Agmetan, with a drachm of originally 100 grs., more
or less, was probably in use in Palestine throughout
the whole historical period. Specimens of inscribed
weights on all these standards have recently come to
light (see Exp. Times, xxiv. [Aug. and Sept., 1913]).

IV. Money

All money transactions in the pre-exilic period were
carried through by means of the balance, coined money
being unknown until the Persian period. Silver was
the ordinary medium of exchange. By what standard
or standards it was weighed in earlier "times cannot be
affirmed with certainty, but the probability is all in
favour of the Phoenician standard set forth above.
The standard for transactions in gold is even more
uncertain. 1 The Priests Code certainly demands tho
standard of the "sacred" or Phoenician shekel for
gold as for silver (Lev. 27.25). On the assumption that
i-old shekel was reckoned for convenience as worth
14 silver shekels of the same weigh! we get the following
approximate values :

Denomination.

Silver.

Gold.

1 Shekel (220-224 grains)
1 Mina (51) shekels)
1 Talent (GO minus)

n. d.
029
6 IT 6
112 10

s.

1 is
% r.

5,T"j

d.

r l he first coins to circulate in Palestine wore : () the
ight gold shekel, or daric, of Darius Hystaspis, weHi-
o", g , -T? grS " and tlu refore worth rather more than

shillings, and (b) the silver half-shekel of 86-87 grs
in value fa of the daric. Although termed by Greek
writers a siglos, this silver coin was really half of the
true Persian silver shekel of 173 3 grs. (Neb 615)
of which went to the mina. The latter is the
" pound more nearly lj lb. avoir.of the entries
in Lx.r. 26(j, Neh. 7 7 if.

Alongside of the Persian coinage the contemporary
silver .shekels or tetradrachma (c. 220 grs ) of the
Phoenician cities,, of Tyre especially, were also from
this time onwards, until the first century of our era
in circulation among the Jews. Under the Ptolemies
J -gyptian money circulated freely since it was also on
the ! hcenician standard. In passing under the rule
f ; the Solenoids (198 B.C.), the Jews became familiar
with their silver currency on the Attic standard, based
on the drachm, wh;eh at this period weighed r 63 grs
and was worth about lOrf. ; 100 drachms went to the
mma, and 6000 -to the silver talent (c. 250) The
numerous sums of money in the two books of Maccabees
be calculated on this basis. From Josephus
icount of the revenues of Herod, and similar entries,
t appears that a silver talent of the concurrent

i& 1 jse^

the 3 wrif pr^^Y^ th f hea - vjr Babylonian shekel of 25J K must . ta

here ronrpt^K n> be f^V 1 ? The Kold mina which Josephus
re represents aa equal to 24 Homan pounds is the mina of thp

k?wh1eh fitofiteStS f t day. afljtplataed aK acoordinK
below) 6Q to 125 Eoma!1 Winrls (see further

WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY, AND TIME

117

Phoenician issues was reckoned as the equivalent of
10,000 Seleucid- Attic drachms.

Under Simon Maooabaeus the Jews first began to
coin copper money, for the so-called " Maccabsean "
silver shekels really belong to the years of the first
revolt against the Romans (A.D. 66-70). This copper
coinage was continued by the Hasmonean princes, by
the Herods, and by the Roman procurators (.see Hill,
Brit. Mus. Cat., " Coins of Palestine ").

The coins circulating in Palestine in NT times were
of several denominations and of varied provenance.
The only gold coin was the atireiis of the Roman
emperors, at this time practically equivalent to our
sovereign. It was equal to 25 of the popular silver
coin, the denarius, the " penny " of our versions
(Mt. 202, 22 1 9, etc.) and worth about S^cl. In ordinary
usage it was accepted as the equivalent of the drachm
(Lk. 15s, " piece of money," Ac. lOig). From Tyre
came shekels, or tetradrachms, ori the old standard,
by which alone, as the " sacred " shekel, the Temple
dues could be paid, and of which oO " pieces " were
the price of our Lord s betrayal (c/. Mt. 1724-27).

Of copper coins we find in the gospels (a) the
assarion (Mt. lOag, Lk. 126), worth about fc?., (b) the
kodrantes, the Roman quadra ns (Mt. 026), worth about
-jc/. both are rendered " farthing " in our versions
and (c) the lepton, the widow s mite " (Mk. 1242,
Lk. 212), worth about ^d.

In the gospels, finally, we have mention of larger
sums of money, the pound or mina (Lk. 19i3ff. ) and
the talent (Mt. 1824). The mina was now the equivalent
of 100 denarii, or 4 aurei, say 4 sterling. The silver
talent of 60 minas, or 6000 denarii, on the same light
standard, would thus represent 240 (so RVm., Mt.
1824). Josephus, however, as we have seen, reckons
with a talent, on the heavy standard, of 10,000
Seleucid-Attic drachms, equivalent to 12,000 of the
lowered denarius-drachms of his day, which represent
a sum of nearly 480. The value, at the British mint
price, of the corresponding gold talent, taken as equal
to 125 Roman pounds (see above), works out at 5124.
In all such equations of ancient money with our own
it must be remembered that the real value of all the
denominations, as tested by their purchasing power in
the particular period under review, was several times
greater than their nominal value as expressed in
pounds, shillings, and pence. In our Lord s day a
denarius (Q^d.) was the wage of an agricultural labourer
(Mt. 20aff.), who to-day commands four to six times
as much.

V. Divisions of Time. The Jewish Calendar

The sun and the moon are the universal time
measures, and were recognised as such by the Hebrews
(Gen. 114). The measures thus provided are primarily
the day, the month, and the year.

1. The Day. The day was the smallest definite
measure of time in OT times, and was reckoned from
sunset to sunset, a survival of the once predominant
position of the moon among the Semites. The length
of the day in Palestine, in the sense of the period of
daylight, varied with the seasons, ranging from about
14| hours at the summer to 9f hours at the winter
solstice. In this sense the day was properly divided
into three parts : morning, noontide, and evening.
The night was similarly but more exactly divided into
three watches, a term of military origin (cf. Jg. 719,
"the middle watch ). In NT times the Roman
division into four watches began to be introduced
(seeMk. 13.35).

The division of the day into hours, numbered from
sunrise, is also first met with in the NT. The hour
was not a fixed quantity, but the twelfth part (Jn. llg)
of the period of daylight, varying, therefore, with the
season from 70 to 50 minutes.

2. The Month and the Week. The Hebrew months
were true lunar months or " moons," and began with
the day at the beginning of which, soon after sunset, the
new moon was first observed. The length of a lunation
being 29 days, 12 hours and some minutes, the interval
between one observation and another was in some
months 29 days, in others 30. By what method and
by what authority the beginning of each month was
determined in the pre-exilic period is unknown. In
the first centuries of our era, however, and doubtless
for some centuries previously, elaborate arrangements
were made by the Sanhedrin for hearing and testing
the witnesses claiming to have seen the new moon
on the expiry of the 29th day. If it had not been
seen on this, the evening and beginning of the 30th day,
the following day was declared to be the first of the
new month, since it was well known that no lunation
period could exceed 30 days.

In the OT the months are indicated in three ways :
(a) By the old Canaanite names (known also from
Phoenician inscriptions), of which, however, only four
have been preserved in the OT. These are Abib, lit.
the month of " ripening ears " the Passover month
corresponding to Nisan of the later nomenclature
(Ex. 134, Dt. 16i, etc.) Ziv (1 K. 61,37), Ethanim
(ib. 82), and Bui (ib. 638). (b) By numbers, the
first, second, month, etc., beginning in spring witli
Nisan. (c) By adaptations of the Babylonian names,
which appear in writings subsequent to the Exile (e.g.
Neh. li, 2i, Est. 3/, 89, Zech. 7i). The following table
gives these names as found in later Jewish writings,
with the corresponding months of our calendar, be
ginning with the first month of the Babylonian year.
The older Canaanite name is added in parentheses.

The Names of the Months of the Jeivish Year

1. Nisan (Abib) corresponding to March-April

2. lyyar (Ziv) April-May

3. Sivan

4. Tammuz

5. Ab

6. Elul

7. Tishri (Ethanim)

8. Marcheshvan (Bui)

9. Kislev

10. Tebeth

11. Shebat

12. Adar

May-June

June July

July-Aug.

Aug. -Sept.

Sept.-Oct.

Oct.-Nov.

Nov. -Dec.

Dec.-Jan.

Jan.-Feb.

Feb.-March

The intercalary month was named Adar II, and
always contained 29 days.

The origin of the week of seven days is still obscure.
Probably it originated in a division of the month
corresponding to the four phases of the moon (see on
Sabbath, pp. lOlf.). However this may be, from the
earliest period of which we have record the week had
already, among the Hebrews, become a measure of
time independent alike of the month and of the year.
The days of the week were known only by numbers
with the exception of the seventh or Sabbath ; from
the Greek period onwards, however, the sixth day
began to be known as " the eve of the Sabbath "
(Judith 85 and more definitely Mk. 1642, RV " the
Preparation, that if, the day before the sabbath ").

3. The Year. The Jewish year is known as a
lunisolar year from the fact that while, as we have

118

WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY, AND TIME

seen, the months were lunar months, these were
periodically adjusted to the solar year. Whatever
may have been the nature of the Hebrew year before
the emergence in history of the Hebrew tribes, it is
certain that, from the early monarchy onwards, the
necessity for securing that each of the three agricultural
festivals should fall at the appropriate season coin-
polled the adoption of some means of adj listing the
lunar months to the solar year. How this was done
under the monarchy is unknown. When evidence
becomes available the earliest in found in the re
cently discovered Jewish papyri of the fifth century
B.C. from Elephantine it is seen that its adjust
ment proceeded on purely empirical lines. When, in
the course of the month preceding Abib or Nisan of a
particular year, it became apparent that the barley
harvest would not be ripe by the middle of the following
month (see on Feast of Unleavened Bread, pp. I02f.),
an additional month was added to the year. The Pass
over month then began with the second following new
moon. Each .year, it appears, was considered, so to
say, on its own merits, as opposed to the later system
of intercalation, at fixed intervals, of throe months in
eight years, or. as in the official Jewish calendar of
the present day, of seven months in nineteen year,-:. 1
Assuming that "full" months of 30 days may ha\o
varied in number from four to eight, the length of the
year will have varied from 3f>2-3.~>0 days in ordinary
years- the normal number of a "lunar year" being
3">4 as in the Moslem calendar to 381-38") days in
years of thirteen months.

There is a decided cleavage of opinion as to whether
the Hebrew year began in spring on the first of Abib
(Nisan), as did the Babylonian year, or in nul imn
with Ihe month Tishri. Among an agricultural people,
the cycle of whose farm operations began with the
late autumn rains, the latter alternative is the more
probable. This is also the prii/t l f i- le. inference from
the wording of the earliest legislation, according to
which the autumn Feast of Ingathering (or BoMli^)
fell " at the end of the year " (Ex. 23if>, 3422). BH. <re
the fall of (lie monarchy, however, probably under
the influence of Uabylonia, it had become customary
to begin the New \ e a r in spring (Jer. 3(>22*). It i s

1 The present practice w to intercalate a thirteenth month in
years 3, fi. 8, 11, 14, 17, and 1!) of the cycle. In NT times it \v;i3
already a rule that (lie Passover must uhv;>.\s full after the spring
equinox.

also possible that both reckonings existed side by side
from an earlier period. In any case the developed
festival legislation of the Priests Code reckons th".
Passover month (Abib-Niaan) as " the beginning o.v
months" (Ex. 12.2 and passim). The presumably
earlier method, however, persisted, and indeed still
persists, in the official Jewish calendar of to-day.

Under the monarchy events were dated by thr;
regnal years of the sovereign, or by some outstanding
incident (see Am. li). In the Greek period we fir t,
meet with a real era, that known as the Seleucidan era,
which began in October 312 B.C. The author of
1 Mac., however, is believed to calculate his datey
from the spring of 311 B.C.

Literature. I.-II1, Weights and Measures. F.
Huitsch, Gricchif- che und Romische Hdrologie, 2nd cd.
1882 (standard work on this subject, but now antiquated
in parts) ; W. M. Flinders Petnc, " Weights and
Measures " in Eli u ; H. Nissen, " Griechische u.
Romische Metrologie," in Ivan Muller s UandLucli rL
Alterlumswissenschaft 2 ; C. F. Lehmann-Haupt, Da?,
allbnbi/lon. Harts- und Geivichtssystem, 1893, also " Din
hebraischen Masse" in Klio xvi. [1914], 345ff. ; G. I .
Hill, "Weights and Measures" in Elii ; A. R. S.
Kennedy, corresponding article in HIVB, also " In
scribed Weights from Paleilino," ET, xxiv. [Aug. -Sept.
1913], and " Hebrew Weights and Measures," Journ. aj
Transns. of (!/r Victoria ff!^t/!ii/c, xlvii. [191f>].

IV. Money. F. W. Madden, Coins of lie Jnw, 1881,
now largely superseded by O. F. Hill, Prit. Mus. Cat.
C<iin/i oj 1 dlf^thic, 1!H4 (indispensable) ; Th. Reinach.
Juri^h Coins (!-:ngl. Transl., 1903); A. R. fj.
Kennedy, " Money," in IJDli, iii. 417-432; E.Rogers,
A Handy flni-ic. to Jt-wiah Gain*, 1914.

V. Time. K. K. Gin/.lcr, llamlburh der runtJifWfif.
11. !n-/,tnsc/i.en Chrunoloijic, vol. ii., Zeitrechnung der
Juden," pp.1-1 19 (includos four pages of bibliography) ;
E. Sc-liiircr, Gewh. d. jwli.tchm } o//y.9 3 , vol. i. 7451-f.
" Grund/.iige dcs jiid. Kalenders," also for Assnan
Papyri, Tluol. Litztf/., 1907, eol. tir>-(i9 ; "Calendar,"

Xew Moon," t Vc., in Jeiri-h Enc. ; Abrahams,
"Time" in 1IDB, iv. 7(>2f> . ; \V. M. Ramsay,
"Number*. H< urs, Years," in HDB, v. 473IT. ; E.
Kr>nig, "Kalendorfragen," etc., Zeitschrift der Dentschen
Morncnlandischcn Qeselloctutfl, (K) (1906). 805ff.

Cf. for each section the relative parts of the standard
works on Hebrew Archaeology by Nowack and Ben-
zinger.

THE CHRONOLOGY OF
OLD TESTAMENT

THE

BY THE EDITOR

THE subject is full of difficulties. The Biblical data
taken by themselves provide uo satisfactory chronology,
and a comparison with non-Biblical chronologies proves
tuat at many points the Hebrew statements need recti
fication. The OT records are often vague and inde
finite. In tiie earlier books the king of Egypt is
referred to simply as the Pharaoh, without any indica
tion which Pharaoh is intended. There is accordingly
much dispute as to the identity of the Pharaoh of the
Oppression and the Pharaoh of the Exodus. They are
also inconsistent. Thus in the case of the two king
doms, the period assigned to the kings of Israel from
the death of Solomon to the destruction of Samaria is
about eighteen and a half years less than that assigned
to the kings of Judah within the same limits. The
equalisation of the two by the interpolation of inter
regna in the former is arbitrary and conjectural, with
no shred of evidence to support it The figures also
seem in some instances to have been artificially con
structed ; e.g. 40 and its multiples play a consider
able part. At various points they involve serious
improbabilities, not to say impossibilities. The most
obvious case is the extraordinary length of life as
cribed to the antediluvians (Gen. 5), and in a somewhat
less degree their successors (Gen. 1110-32). But other
examples are to be found in the patriarchal history
(p. 163). So far as Gen. 5, llio-sa are concerned, we
have also to reckon with the .serious discrepancies
between MT, Sam., and LXX.

When we take non-Biblical sources into account,
the deficiencies of the OT chronology become still more-
patent. The Assyrian records in particular are
singularly exact, presenting a striking contrast to
the OT. They show that the statements as to the
reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel need serious
revision. Several dates are definitely fixed by them,
the earliest being the battle of Karkar in 854 B.C.,
at which Ahab is said to have been present. Unfor
tunately the earlier chronology of Egypt and Baby
lonia is still much in doubt.

An advanced civilisation had been reached by the
time at which the OT places the Creation of Man. It
is futile to attempt any determination of dates till
we come to Abraham, and even here any result must
bo very uncertain. According to the Biblical data
645 years elapsed between the Call of Abraham and
the Exodus. If we fix the Exodus about 1230 B.C.,
in the reign of Mcrenptah II, we should get 1875 B.C.
for the Call of Abraham. According to Gen. 14
Abraham was a contemporary of Amraphel. If wo
can rely on this synchronism, which is very precarious
(p. 133), and if Amraphel is to be identified with Ham
murabi, which is by no means certain, and if we fix
Hammurabi s reign as 2123-2081 B.C., then Abraham
would bo in Canaan about 2100 B.C., and the period

from his Call to Merenptah would be much moro than
645 years. We might ease the difficulty by shifting
the Exodus back, or possibly by coming down to a
lower date for Hammurabi, or by abandoning the
synchronism of Gen. 14. If, however, we recognise
the uncertainty which attaches to the period of 645
years and to the narrative in Gen. 14, we shall be
forced to conclude that, even if the historicity of
Abraham is accepted, no certainty can be felt with
reference to his date.

The date of the Exodus has also been much con-
teGted. It must suilieo to say here that the usual
view that it fell in the Nineteenth Dynasty (1328-
1202), in the reign of Merenptah II (1234-1214),
still seems the most probable. It appears to have
taken place about 1230 B.C. The Pharaoh of the
Oppression would be Raniescs II. It is quite uncer
tain how long the residence of the Hebrews in Egypt
lasted.

No definite conclusions are possible as to the period
from the Exodus to Saul, beyond the general statement
that, assuming c. 1230 as the date of tho Exodus, the
period lasted about two hundred years. The scheme
in Jg. has been artificially constructed, and wo must
beware of supposing that the twelve judges stood in
lineal succession, with intervals of national apostasy
and oppression. For the most part their sphere was
restricted, and two or more judges may have flourished
contemporaneously. No attempt, accordingly, is here
made to assign dates.

For the period of the monarchy we are much better
informed, and the Assyrian records are often available
to correct tho OT figures. Even here, however, there
ia a margin of uncertainty. A good deal of discussion
has centred about the narratives of tho return under
Cyrus, and the work of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The opinion of scholars is divided on many points,
and the following table must bo regarded as often
conjectural. Reference should be made further to
the Introductions to the Commentaries on Ezra and
Nehemiah. and Daniel, and to the articles on Thr.
History of Israel, The Nations Contemporary with
Israel, The Historical Books of the OT, and Jewish
History from the Maccabees to the Destruction oj
Jerusalem.

Hebrew History.

c. 1230. Th3 Eiodua from

Egypt.
1025. Saul.

History of Other Peoples.

120

THE CHEONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Hebrew History.

B.C.
1010. David.

970. Solomon.

Jiidalt. Israel.

933. Behoboam. Jeroboam I.
916. Abijam.
914. Asa.

History of Other Peoples.

Hebrew History.

912.

Nadab.

911.

Baasha.

888.

Elah.

887.

Zimri.

887.

Omj-i.

876.

Ahab.

873. Jehoshaphat.

854.

Ahaziah.

653-

Je noram.

849. Jchoram.

842. Ahaziah.

842. Athaliah.

Jehu.

836. Jehoa,sh.

M.I.

Ji lmahaz.

798.

Jehoash.

79 ~ Amaziah.

76 .

Jeroboam JI.

770. Uzzirai.

750. Jotham regent.

?43-

Zechariah.

743.

Shallum.

743-

llenahem.

740. Jotham.

737.

Peiahlah.

736. Ahaz.

Pe ;ah.

73"-

Hoshea.

727. Jlezekiab.

722.

Pall of

Samaria.

643. Amon.
640. Josiah.

929. Sheshonq invades Judah.

860-825. Phalmancser II king

of Assyria.
654. Battle of Karkur.

Jehu tributary to Assyria. 444

745-727. Tiglath-pileser king of
Assyria.

73^. Meiiahem tributary t
Assyria.

727-722. Phnlmaneser JV kuig
i l A.- yria.

7:2-705. Sargon, ting of Assy
ria.

705-681. f- eniiacherib ting of
Assyria.

fv -i-CfiS. Ksarhaddon king oi
Assyria.

668-626. Asshurbanipal king of
Assyria.

625. Kabopolassar founds
Xi \v iiabylojiian king
dom.

332-

6oS. Jchoaha/.

608. Jehoiakim.

597. Jehoiaeliin.
597. Zedeliiah.

586. Destnu tion of Jerusalem
and J: xi!u lo Babylon.

5 ,S. i:.Jict of Cyrufs.

510. iJediraiion ol ScoonJ
Temple.

4>S. llctui ii under K/ra.

445. "-."ehemiah s first visit to

Jerusalem.

1 ublic rcadinij and accept
ance of 1 lie Law.

432. Melierniiih s second visit
lo Jerusalem,
u iniis- i;)!! of the Jews to
Alexander the ( (real .

320. 1 alesliiio. under ihe Pto
lemies (i p. 62. 791., 52.1).

198. Antiochus III of is.vria (pp.
62, 524)coii ]r,ei.- J idestiiLO.

168. Anlioclms J \ i E]i:phanes)
attempts to suppress the
Jewish reiiL ion.

167. J iie .Jews revolt, led ly
the Maccabees.

165. Jeni.-nleni recaptured nncl
Temple worsliip resti ed

1 60. Death of Judas Maccabaaus.

160-142. .lonathan.

142- 135. Simon Maecab.Tiis.

142. Jc\vs gain independence of
Syria.

135-105. John Hyrcanus.

105-104. Aristobulus I.

104-78. Alexander Jaimaeus.

yS-6i). Salome.

69. Aristobulus II.

65. 1 ompey captures Jerusa
lem. Palestine becomfeii
Roman province.

40-37. AntiEtonus.

37-4. Jlerod tiie Great.

History of Other Peoples.

610. Necho king of Egypt.

] or dates of Babylonian am!
] ! crsian kings and dynasties <>!
. ; eleucids and Ptolemies, see pp.
?23f. J- or fuller chroiiolou y of
;!ie period covered by !E/ra-
I\c.herniah, see p. 323.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

BY DR. J. ESTLIN CARPENTER

THE OT opens with five books which our English
Bible designates " books of Moses." 1 Tho titles which
they now bear like Genesis or " origin," Exodus or
" departure " are derived ultimately from the Greek
version of the Jewish Scriptures. The books were known
in the synagogue by their first words : thus Genesis was
entitled B e resliith, " In the beginning." Taken to
gether they formed the " Five-fifths of the TwaJi," or
Law. The Greek name Pentateuch expressed this
" five-volume " arrangement. As the Book of Joshua
continues tho story of the settlement of tlio Israelites in
Canaan after the death of Moses, and has been com
piled out of documents continuous v/ith those em
ployed in the preceding books, it forms a natural sequel
to them, and the terra Hexateuch, " six-volume," has
been coined to indicate their literary and historic unity.
In the Jewish arrangement the Book of Joshua is
reckoned in the second division of the Canon ; it
stands at the head of the great group of histories
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings which were
classed as " the Former Prophets." followed by Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and " the Twelve " (Hosea to
Malachi), known as " the Latter Prophets " (pp. 37f.).
At what time the books of the Law were divided as
they have descended to us is not known with certainty.
The Pentateuch is the result of a long historical process,
the last stage of which begins with the labours of Ezra
in the fifth century B.C. There is good reason to think
that the inclusion of Joshua in the Canon of the
prophetic writings was not effected for two centuries
later. 2

The Hebrew term Toruli was not confined to positive
commands or legal ordinances. In its broad sense it
denoted " teaching," such as parents might give to
their children, or wise mm to the young who were
entering life. It was applied to the instruction im
parted by prophets, and the directions with which
priests settled difficult disputes. Sometimes it widens
out to include the whole field of what we might call
Revelation ; in other contexts it is the title of a special
collection of precepts. As the general name of the
first five books of our Bible it included history as well
as legislation: it summed up the ancient faith of
Isiael in the Divine purpose of the creation of the world,
the making of man, and the preparation of the chosen
people to be the organs of truth and righteousness for
the nations of the earth. And as Moses had been the
founder of Israel s religious institutions, the books
which recorded the sacred traditions, and the collec
tions of laws established upon them, came to be asso
ciated with his name; and in citing "the Law of
Moses " the Chronicler probably refers to our Penta-

lation. whi Oi <!!! ivt < mploy any other than numerical tii!w>, " First
Book of Moses," and so on to the Fifth,

- As the Book of ,J< -.-lira will receive sr>R rate notice, this Intro-
auction is limited to the Pentateuch.

touch and implies his authorship. But the Chronicles
are among tho latest works in the OT. They belong
to the Greek age (p. 315), and thus the earliest external
testimony to Moses as the writer of the Pentateuch
only meets us not much Kss than a thousand years
after the Exodus. It was the belief of the rabbis ;
it was the boast of ilie historian Josephus in Pales
tine ; it was the assumption of the cultivated Jew of
Alexandria, Philo; and it parsed into the Christian
Church as the accepted basis of the entire history of
revelation.

But the books themselves contain no such statement.
Genesis and Leviticus tell us nothing of their authors.
Exodus briefly refers certain passages to Moses (17i4,
24-4, 3427-28). Numbers only attributes to him a list
of tho stages of the Israelite march (33a). Two ac
counts are given in Deuteronomy of the writing of
"this law" (31.9-13 and 24- .?6), which is then com
mitted to tho custody of the Lcvites. The Law thus
said to have been recorded is clearly limited (444)
to " the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments "
assigned to the last year of Moses life in the land of
Moab. These " statutes and judgments " apparently
begin in 12i and reach a solemn conclusion in 2616-19.
The value of these ascriptions must be tested by such
evidence as history subsequently may provide. The
fact that they apply only to certain parts of the books
is in itself a warning against crediting Moses with the
whole.

For more than a thousand years after our era tho
tradition of Mosaic authorship was not seriously ques
tioned, though some obscure sects here and there
raised a doubt on grounds of doctrine or usage. The
famous Spanish Rabbi Ibn Ezra (A.D. 1088-1167) was
the first to hint in veiled language at the existence of
passages belonging to a later ago. The immense
intellectual energy of the Renaissance did not neglect
thr> Scriptures. In 1520 Carlstadt, who had started
in 1516 on the same path of reform as Luther, pointed
out that the style of narrative after the death of
Moses in the Hook of Joshua remained unchanged, and
it was therefore possible that. Moses was not the author
of the five books ascribed to him. Luther, who felt
himself in no way bound by the Church tradition
about Scripture, asked what it mattered if Moses had
not himself written the Pentateuch. The new learning
brought various critics, both Catholic and Protestant,
into the field, and in the seventeenth century Thomas
Hobbes in his Leviathan (1651), and Spinoza in the
Tradatus Theologico-Politicus (1671), pointed to
numerous indications of post-Mosaic authorship and
chronological embarrassment. Neither theologian nor
philosopher, however, had as yet hit upon any clue
by which the contents of the Pentateuch could be
analysed into th-.-ir constituent parts. In 1685 a
Dutch scholar, Jean le Clerc, made the important
observation that tho term " prophet " applied to

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

Abraham in Gen. 20 7 did not come into use till the
time of Samuel (1 P. 9 9 ). He inferred, therefore, tnat
the IVntateuch could not have assumed its present
form til! the time of tho monarchy, and suggested that
it had been compiled from various documents some
of which might have been written even before Moses,
though only fragments had been preserved.
problem was how to distinguish such different sources.
Two generations passed before a clue was supplied.
At length a French physician, .lean Astruc or .Mont-
polier, Catholic by religion though ot Huguenot origin
Published anonymously at Brussels a little book
Conjectures on the. Original Documents winch Moses
appears to have employed or tic. Compos, wn of Me
Hook of Genesis. He noticed that in d .fit-rent narratives
tho DeitV was designated by dim-rent names In
some passages He was called Elohim (Cod), m others
YHWH (the four letters of tho sacred name originally
pronounced Yahweh, represented in our English
version by " the LOED," the equivalent of the Hebrew
vord read in its place and anglicised, through the
plication of the Vowel of the HoW title to ttm
original consonants in the- form Jehovah). On this
basis he distributed the contents _ of Genesis_into

nasis no uistnuu - i A- i i

main documents, an Klohim narrative A and a Vahwen
Tory B, winch ran through the entire book lo the
Elohim source, for example, he assigned the stately
account of the creation (l-2 3 ), followed by ^^
alocrv in 5 ; its counterpart m 24-4 opened the \ ahwer.
document. The story of the Flood was compiled from
the two narratives, and its inconsistencies wore at
once explained. If in 619 Elohim commanded iSoah
to take one pair of each kind ol animal into he ark
while in 72 Yahweh enjoined Noah to distinguish
U-tweon the clean and the unclean, it was clear that
two independent versions had been combined,
the patriarchal stories there were episodes that seemed
to fit into neit -r of these two great groups, iho
invasion of the Jordan valley by Chedorlaomer and
I allies in 14, the attack on Shechem m consequence
o the violation of Dinah in 34, the- Edomite lists m 3b
with some shorter passages (ten in all), were referred
to separate sources. Astruc did not carry 1 Ins in
vestigations beyond the first two chapters o
By this limitation he missed the real key to the diversity
which he had so acutely noticed His results were
consequently incomplete. Later scholars were to ay
broad and deep the foundations of OT si my, but the
initial inquiry into the composition of the Pentateuch
owes most to Astruc. . ,

It is not necessary to recite the successive critical
steps by which the modern position has been reached,
but a few words may bo said concerning the method
of composition, of which the Pentateuch presents so
conspicuous an example. The later books of Israel s
national history show similar traces of compilation
Thus Jg Iiob-i5 reproduces Jos. 15i4-iQ i" a different
context There are two accounts of the origin c
the monarchy in 1 S. ; there are in the same way
different versions of the rejection of Saul.
first introduced as a lad, too young to bo summoned
to the family sacrifice (1 S. ]6n), but in the same
chapter he is already (18) a " mighty man ot valour
and a man of war." Plainly these descriptions are
drawn from separate sources, and the compiler saw
no difficulty in putting them in immediate success
Sometimes such extracts might be altered, or expanded,
or curtailed. The purpose of the writer was always
moral he chose what seemed fittest to convey his
ideas, and he adapted his materials to suit his own
conceptions of religious truth. Of this practice a

conspicuous illustration is afforded in tho Books o?
Chronicles compared with tho earlier Books of Kings.
They tell the story of David and his successors in the
monarchy at Jerusalem in the light of the faith and
practice of the Greek age to which the author belonged.
The forms of worship which he knew were or time-
honoured antiquity. He supposed them to have been
observed by the pious kings of the past
depicted David and Hezekiah as types of the devouu
observance of his own time. Statements ot the old^r
books are transferred to his own pages, sometimes
Ion" passages word for word, sometimes with important
modifications or additions. In this way later work;
are built up on earlier, and the examination of other
literatures shows that this practice was not confined
to Israel. " When we compare the Arabic historians
with one another," says Prof. A. A, Sevan, 1 " we
find that they differ precisely as the BOOK <
Chronicles differs from Samuel and Kings, home-
times the same passage, extending over several pages,
appears in two or more authors, but in such
cases wo almost universally find a certain number 01
variants. At other times, particularly in the later
Arabic historians, we com.- upon what may DO called
patchwork narratives, consisting of short passages
borrowed (with or without modification) from older
w>rks and fitted together by the compiler who, o.-
course, usually intersperses remarks of his own.
Similar methods may >>:> observed m the literature 01
India, for example in tho successive narratives of the
cnrlv lif* of Gotama th- Buddha, while the development
of numerous works of sacred law presents corresponding
features The study of the first three Gospels shows
that like methods were adopted by the primitive- Evan
gelists ( np. <H 2 -078). Large portions of Mark arc repro
duced in Me ; very nearly the whole is represented in
Vattltcw. But Luke and Matthew have both employed
an additional source, which, however, they treat in
tlvir own way, sometimes preserving its very words
with care sometimes transposing, modifying, omitting,
adding, creating fresh connexions and imparting new
meanings. Various materials may thus be welded
into a Single whole. Of this process a remarkable
instance is^ afforded in the early Christian Church by
the Diatessawn of Tatian. Born in the East, probably
lr-vond the Tigris, and educated in the Greek learning,
he was converted to Christanity and went to Rome.
There he was a pupil of Justin some time before A.D.
IS* and thence he returned at a later date to the East
For the use of the churches he drew up a kind ot
harmony of the Gospvls, which gained the name
Dia cwron, " bv Four," and was widely employed
instead of the " separate " books. In a general sense
its literary foundation was the Fourth Gospel from
which its opening and closing passages were taken.
But the attempt to combine the different materials
led inevitably to transpositions and amalgamations,
which sometimes left incongruities unconcealed, i rom
such a product the sections belonging to the Fourth
Gospel could be eliminated with little difficulty But
no analysis of the rest could reach more than tentative
results. In this case, however, we possess tho
" separate " Gospels independently, and can trace tho
use which has been made of each In dealing with
the Pentateuch that aid fails us. On the other hand
the grounds for resolving it into definite groups o
narrative and law arc far more numerous and decisive
The modern view, which distributes it into four mam

i " Historical Methods in the OT " ire Cambridge Biblical Essays.
1909, p. 13.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

123

documents, presents it, in fact, as the Diatessaron of
the OT.

It is sometimes supposed that this distribution de
pends exclusively upon the use of different words,
notably on the varying occurrence of the two Divine
names to which Astruc was the first to call attention.
Thus the distinguished Egyptologist, M. Edouarcl
Naville, writes of " the philological analysis on which
rests entirely the theory of the various documents of the
Pentateuch." l Such an assertion entirely overlooks the
large mass of evidence of other kinds, which constitutes
the real foundation of the whole argument. It cannot
be too often repeated that the primary considerations
are not linguistic at all. They arise out of inconsist
encies in statements of fact ; they arc based on diver
gencies in the presentation of the events and institutions
belonging to the Mosaic age ; they are concerned with
incongruities in legislation which cannot bo referred to
one single hand. It is quite true that these differences,
when they are compared together, are seen to be accom
panied by varieties of expression, which tend in their
turn to fall into groups. Certain leading ideas are
couched again and again in recurring formulae. And
in passages which may for other reasons be suspected
as composite, the usage of words may become a valu
able aid in analysis. But it mu.it always be remem
bered that the elemental grounds of the resolution
of the Pentateuch into its four main constituents do
not lie in language ; they are to be found in the diver
sities of sacred tradition and of religious enactment, and
are confirmed by the witness of subsequent history.

A few instances must suffice to illustrate the diffi
culty of ascribing the accounts of the incidents of the
Mosaic age to the great leader himself. In the settle
ment of Israel in Egypt they were placed as .shepherds
in the land of Goshen (Gen. 472;). There, accordingly,
when the plagues break out, they are unaffected by the
flies which swarm in the houses of the Egyptians
(Ex. 822), and the hail which desolates the crops
throughout Egypt docs not touch them (926). But
a second representation depicts them as located among
the Egyptians ; and when thick darkness covered the
land for three days, so that no one could move, the
children of Israel had light in their dwellings (Ex.
1021-23). Blended in this manner with the native
population all around them, and even in their o\vn
homes, they were able to secure jewels of gold and silver
with which to start upon their way (Ex. 32if.,
lli-3). Some hues the same narrative contains quite
different dot ails. When the twelve spies are sent to
explore Canaan (Nu. 132i), they traverse the whole
length of the country from south to north, as far as
the pass known as " the entering in of Hamath."
But the next verse describes them as making a fresh
start ; they only get as far as Hebron and the adjacent
valley of Eshcol, where they cut down a huge cluster
of grapes, which they carry back, with pomegranates
and figs, to Moses at Kadesh (266), about fifty miles
south of Becrsheba, the other narrative conducting them
still further south to the wilderness of Paran, whence
they had started (13s6a).

A similar combination of different narratives may
be discerned in the account of the rebellion of Korah,
Dathan, and Abir.im in Nu. 16. Korah the Levitc
is the leader of " two hundred and fifty princes of the
congregation, men of renown," who protest against
the religious leadership of Moses and Aaron ; Dathan
and Abiram belong to the tribe of Reuben, and head a
revolt against the secular authority of Moses. Even

1 Archceoloay of the Old Testament. 1913. p. 204, cf. 24.

Prof. Orr admits that " there are traces in the narrative
of ttco movements." 1 They have been imperfectly
combined, for Koran s party are first of all swallowed
up with the followers of Dathan and Abiram (32), and
are afterwards devoured by the sacred fire which
comes forth from the entrance of the tent of meeting
(35). The significance of the fact that in the retrospect
(Dt. 116) Dathan and Abiram alone are mentioned,
and Korah is ignored, will become apparent hereafter.
Once more there is a remarkable divergence between
the accounts of the making of the Ark in Ex. and Dt.
In Dt. 10, after the first sojourn of Moses on the
mount, and the fracture of the stone tablets of the
covenant, Moses is directed to cut two new tablets and
make an ark in which they may be preserved. The
recital continues : " So I made an ark of acacia wood,
and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first."
He reascends the mount, the tablets are Divinely
inscribed, and the story concludes (5) : " And I turned
and came down from the mount, and put the tables
in the ark which I had made ; and there they be as
Yahweh commanded me." The narrative of Exodus
gives a completely different representation. Before
the first tablets have been entrusted to him, Moses
receives elaborate instructions for the preparation of
the Ark (Ex. 25 10-21), into which he is to put the
" testimony " which will be delivered to him. These
directions are carried out by Bezalel (37i), and on
New Year s Day in the second year Moses put the
" testimony " into the Ark (402o). It ia impossible
to suppose that these two stories can have been
written by tho same hand. The narrative of Dt.,
however, plainly depends on that in Ex. 34i~4, as the
following parallels show :

Ex. 34. DT. 10

1 And Yahweh said unto 1 At that time Yahweh saitl

Moses. Hew thee two tables of unto me. Hew thee two tablea

stone like unto the fir.jt ; oi stone like unto the first, and

come up to me to the mount.

and make thee an ark of wood.

and I will writs upon the 2 Aud I will write on the tables

tables the word-; which were on tha words that were on the first

the first tables which thou tables which thou brakest. and

brakest . . . thoa shalt put them iu the ark.

4 Aud he hewed two tables 3 So I made an ark of acacia

of stone like unto the first . . . wuod, and hewed two tables of

and he w. nt up into Mount f;toue like unto the first, and

Sinai . . . and took in his hand w ;nt up into the mount having

two tables of stone. the two tabled in mine hand.

Why is all mention of the Ark omiited in Ex. 34 ?
No doubt it stood there originally, for why should it
have been inserted in Dt. 10 ? It has apparently been
removed from the earlier story to make room for the
very di Iff Tent description of Bc-zalel s Ark. In the
process of compilation they could no longer be allowed
to stand side by side.

Bezalel s Ark is placed in an elaborate structure
named " the dwelling " (Ex. 25g). 2 Upon the Ark is
laid a golden slab (2617) bearing two cherubim with
outspread wings, protecting the " testimony " within.
It was the solemn seat from which Yahweh would
condescend to meet and speak (RV " commune ")
with Moses (2522). The dwelling which enshrined it
was placed in the centre of the camp, with the twelve
tribes surrounding it, three on a side, Judah taking
the lead upon the east (Nu. 2). It sometimes also
bears the name " tent of meeting," as in the chapter
just cited, or the two are combined, " dwelling of the
tent of meeting " (Ex. 402). But of this tent we are
told (Ex. 33;) that Moses used to pitch it outside the

1 The Problem of the Old Testament, p. 358.

2 So KVm. The rendering " tabernacle " obscures the fact
that the term in derived immediately from the promise in the nre.
ceding verse, " Let them make me a sanctuary that 1 may dwell
among them."

12t

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

camp at a distance from it. 1 And a very different
picture is given of the august communion of the <n- c ->t
leader with Yahweh. When Moses had entered
it, a pillar of cloud came down in (he si^ht
of the distant people, and stood at the opening
and spoke with him. Such Divine converse, " face
to face as a man spcaketh unto his friend " is
recorded in Nu. 1125, 125, find at a similar mectincr
Joshua receives his charge (Dt, 31 14^,23). It is
alleged, indeed, that " going out from the camp "
means coming into the open space in the centre where
the sanctuary stood. But such an explanation is
quite inconsistent with the story of the seventy elders
(Nu. 11), two of whom did not go out to the tent,
hut remained in the camp (24-30), to which Moses and
the prophetic company return. These representations
cannot be harmonised, and belong to different concep
tions of the sanctuary in the wilderness.

In the tent of meeting the voting Joshua used to
minister, remaining in it when Moses went 1m ck into
the camp (Ex. 33 1 1). For the dwelling, however, vcrv
elaborate provision was made. Aaron and his sons
were solemnly consecrated to the ministry (Lev. 8),
and at a later stage the Lrvitcs were set a pan for tin
service of the sanctuary (Nu. 8), but tlirV were for
bidden to approach the altar or perform priestlv func
tions under pain of death (Nu. IS.?-;), [ he Deutero-
nomic code, however, which is assigned in IVutateuehal
chronology to the last year of Moses life, recognises
no such distinction. "The priests, the Lcvites "
(i.e. the Levitieal prie.-is). " the whole tribe of Levi "
(Dt. 18i), possess equal rights ; all are alike entitled
" to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh." A
country Levite coming up to the central sanctuary,
" the place which Yahweh shall choose " (i.e. J,, ru !
salem), shall have the full piivile .v of the altar, like
those who already " stand there before Yahweh "
(Dt, IScf). They will have n,, lenih.rial mainte
nance, they will live by the altar-dues (Dt, 18if.),
which in Nu. 1820 are reserved for tlr- priests alone!
More startling still is the contrast with the repeated
commendation of the poor Levites to the householder s
goodwill (Dt. iL u.i.s 1C,, etc.). So far from having
no inheritance (Dt. 18.-), they are promised, in the
very same year of Moses life-, the ample endowment
of forty-eight cities with their surrounding pasture-
lands (Nu. 35i-6). How can such diversities of re
ligious institutions and legislative enactment be
ascribed to a single; founder ?

The records of Moses activity thus present different
conceptions of historic fact and of provision for
the future. A little attention to their language
further reveals striking varieties of tviminology. The
"sanctuary" which is to be provided for Yahweh
(Lx. 25s and twelve other passages), Dt. never names.
It constitutes a place for Yahweh to dwell in, and is
called the " dwelling." This term Dt, ignores For
one group of narratives th e sacred mountain bears

w e u am m, f >S ? :ii; T/t ahva . v;! P^ 18 the name
Horeb. 1 he middle books describe the organisation
of the people under the name " congregation " they
are divided into " tribes " (matteh), whose chiefs are
princes." For Dt, the nation forms an " assembly "
constituted, indeed, out of tribes, designated by a
diffcrenMvord (shebbet), who are led by " heads " and
ciders. These changes of vocabulary are not hap
hazard. They accompany contrasted conceptions of
specific arrangements which are attributed to the same

i Tho car-ful reader will notice that it is here described as some-
S^?4 a to be* "d- WP known> But a"cordir.s to Ex 35 -40 ft

historic and geographic situation. Thus in the plains
of Moab provision is made twice over for cities of
refuge in the following terms :

i ,,
into the land of Canaan. 11 then

ye shall appoint citi.-s to be
cities of relu^.for you. that the
inanslayer which, killstli any

K"r "l^rT^ V ;ly , fl ^
tmiher 12 And the cities shall

hP s U V;VT^ refuSe , r " ra
the avenger; that the manslayer

fhl ^merV -Vu i e f n ta Kl , h " for , e

13^; g ^f c lt r ffir&

shall give shall be for you sis
citit-s of refug -.

shall

land

.

d\v:>!l r,t in tin ir hoiispq 9 tho
s ril s.-i" r three dtie* foi
thee in h midst of thy land
which Yahweh thy God gTCth
thoe to possess it. S ThWRhalt
prepare thee the way ;>nd divHc

i he bor(i " rs of HiTuS wWch
Yahw^h thv Cod c:m-"<th they
to lherit into three parts, that

raans!ayer may iiee

The careful reader of the laws thus introduced will
notice a large number of differences of language. The
opening formula in Nu., " Speak . . . and say,"
occurs twenty times in Lev.-Nu., but never once in
Dt. The designation "land of Canaan" is frequent
Lev.-Nu. (fourteen times) ; it is replaced in the
Deuteronomic code by various circumlocutions, such
as " the land which Yahweh thy God giveth thee to
possess it," etc. The law in Nu. calls the cities " cities
of refuge," a title which Dt. persistently ignores.
From the rest of the passage (.3510-34) various phrases
of repeated occurrence in Lev.-Nu., such as " con
gregation," " high priest," " anointed with the holy
oil, "stranger and sojourner," "statute of judg
ment," " throughout your generations," and others,
ha re all vanished. In Nu. we read " killetli any person
unwittingly " ; Dt. writes " killetli his neighbour
unawares, and hated him not in time past," layin<
stress on the enmity (l<J.),n). Why should these laws
have been composed in such different terms in the last
of Moses old age ? These variations of language
are found to characterise groups of enactments asso
ciated with no less marked variations of social de
velopment and religious ideas. It has been recently
suggested that Moses originally wrote on clay tablet s
similar to those which were discovered at Tell el-
Amarna on the Nile (in 1887), containing reports from
governors of Palestinian cities to the sovereign of
Egypt in cuneiform character (p. 55). These tablets,
it is supposed, were carried to Babylon by the exiles!
and were translated by Ezra some nine hundred years
after Moses inscribed them into the vernacular Aramean
of his day. This translation was then, at Jerusalem,
translated again into the language which wo know as
classical Hebrew, the speech of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Mow under such circumstances can it be imagined that
these regular variations of diction should have been so
carefully preserved ? Once more it must be remem
bered that the " philological argument " only emerges
into significance when it is found to accompany diver
gent representations of fact.

The key to the most immediately important of those
divergencies lies in Ex. 62-8. Astruc had already hinted
that two main documents might be traced through the
Book of Genesis, one employing the Divine name
Elobim, the other Yahweh. Had he pursued his re
searches a little further, h e might have discerned a
reason for this remarkable fact, For the writer of
t. 62f. tells us that " God spake unto Moses, and
said unto him, I am Yahweh, and I appeared unto
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob as El Shaddai
(God Almighty), but by My name Yahweh I was not
known to them." This passage makes two clear
statements. In revealing Himself as Yahweh, God
declares that He had been unknown to the fathers of

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

Israel by that name ; on the other iuuid, Ho had
disclosed Himself as El Shaddai. Two such self-
disclosures are recorded, the first to Abraham (Gen.
17i), the second to Jacob (3on). The corresponding
announcement to Liaac has not been preserved. On
the other hand, such declarations as that to Abraham
(Gen. 15;), " I am Yahweh, that brouglit thee out of
Ur of the Chaldces," or to Jacob (2813), " I am Yahweh,
the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac,"
cannot have proceeded from the writer of Ex. 63,
unless he contradicted himself. Behind the patriarchs
stand the dim figures of an older time, so that the
worship of Yahweh can be carried back to the immediate
descendants of Adam " Then began men to call upon
the name of Yahv/eh " (Gen. 426).

Here are different conceptions of the, history of
revelation, which arc not to be set aside by the plea
that the Hebrew text is uncertain, and that the Greek
and other ancient versions sometimes show variations
of usage. Were there no other independent indica
tions in statements of circumstance, in records of
events, in religious ideas and practice, these diversities
would undoubtedly possess greater weight. But the
most cautious scholars have pointed out how many
considerations need attention in estimating their
value. Sometimes a copyist introduces a variation
quite accidentally ; sometimes a translator has a pre
ference for one name over another, or freely reproduces
the original without rigid adherence to uniform rules.
Hence the late Dr. Driver warned the student that,
before a variant in the Greek or other version can be
regarded as casting doubt upon our Hebrew text,
" it must be shown, or at least made reasonably prob
able, (1) that the variant is not due to a paraphrase
or loose rendering on the part of the translator, or to
an error of a transcriber, but that it really depends
upon a various reading in the Hebrew MS. used by the
translator ; and (2) that this various reading in the
Hebrew has substantial claims to be preferred to the
Massoretic text, as being the original reading of the
Hebrew " l Dr. Skinner has proved, by a careful
comparison of the Samaritan text of Genesis with
the Hebrew, that while they agree in the Divine
names over three hundred times, they only differ
in nine. The Samaritan Pentateuch is believed to
be older than 300 B.C. ; it thus precedes the Greek
version, which was begun in the next century. The
result is significant. " It means," says Dr. Skinner,
" that through two independent lines of descent the
Divine names in Genesis have been transmitted with
practically no variation." -

The argument founded on the respective occurrences
of the names Elohim, El Shaddai, Yahweh in Genesis
is, however, only one item in a much more compre
hensive list. Around these terms arc grouped mani
fold repetitions, incongruities, discrepancies, which
become intelligible as soon as they are referred to
different documents. Thus the narrative of the
creation in Gen. 1-24O is at once discriminated from
the story of Eden which follows. In the first, mankind
are created by Elohim in two sexes on the sixth day,
as the climax of the whole process of bringing into
being the heavens and the earth. The order of pro
duction in the second pays no heed to what precedes.
A single man is formed by Yahweh out of the dust
upon the ground before any green thing had appeared. 3

1 Literature, of the OT, 9th ed.. p. 29, where references to de
tailed discussion will be found.

2 The Diving Names in Genesis, 1914. p. 117. Students will
flnd in this careful treatise an exhaustive reply to the arguments
of Dahse.

3 The compiler has apparently added the name Elohim in order
to identify Him with the Deify in the preceding story.

A garden is planted, and he i;; placed then; to
keep it. The beasts of the field and the birds
of the air are wrought successively out of the same
ground, but none is a fit mate for him. The history
of early man thus opened is continued with the account
of tho first sin and its issue. A sketch of the de
velopment of primitive civilisation (Gen. 4) leads to
an account of the Flood. The descendants of Noah
are dispersed, and the origin of diversities of language
is explained, and the writ. a- passes to the traditions
of the patriarchal age. Abram builds altars to Yahweh
and calls on His name (Gen. 128, 13i8, 2133), and
Yahweh makes a covenant with him (15i8). Isaac
follows his father s example at Beersheba (2625) ;
Jacob recognises Yahweh s presence at Bethel (28iC).
Here is a succession of stories repeated from generation
to generation, linked in local association with altars,
pillars, wells, and sacred trees, and penetrated with
the belief that the simple worship of Yahweh had been
practised from immemorial antiquity. To tins group
modern criticism has affixed the designation J
(Jehovah).

On the other hand, there are traces of a document,
conceived on the theory of Ex. 62! ., that the Divine
name Yahweh was first made known to Moses. For
example, after the statement in Gen. 6s that " Noah
found grace in the eyes of Yahweh," we read in 9 that
Noah was a righteous man and walked with Elohim.
The writer proceeds to relate how the earth had become
full of violence, and Elohim proposed to destroy all
flesh upon it. The story runs parallel with Yahweh s
grief over human wickedness, and His intention to
blot out man and beast and creeping thing (65-7).
But Noah and his family are to be saved, and while one
writer in the name of Elohim directs him to take two
of each sort of living thing into the ark (619), tho
other narrates Yahweh s command that he shall dis
criminate between clean and unclean, taking seven
pairs of the former (72). We are plainly on the track
of two versions of the story, not set side by side liko
tho narratives of tho creation of man, but blended
together in one continuous account. The careful
reader will notice how the vocabulary changes in
successive sections, as the following table shows :

ELOIIIM YAIUVEII

Elchiin, 613,22, 716,815. Yahweh, 65-8, 71,5,166,820,21.1

All flesh, 612,13,17, 715,21, 817- Every living thing, 74,23.

Destroy, 613,17. Blot out (RVin. Ileb.) 67, 74,23.

The flood, 617, 7f>. Rain, 74.12.

Dis (Ileb. (jam) 617. 7zi. Die (Ileb. muth), 722.

Thou and thv sons, etc., GiS. Thou and all thy house, 7i.
713, 816,18.2

Male and female, 619, 7i6. Male and his femali (Ileb.
" man and his wifo "), 7?. 3

A large number of other instances may easily bo
collected linking the Elohim story with Gen. \-2$a
ond 9i-i7. It will be observed that it begins with a
title (69) : " These are the generations of Noah."
The same title is found in 5i, which looks back to
24(1, where it is reasonably conjectured that tho phrase
" these are the generations " (toledhoth) " of the heaven
and of the earth when they were created " originally
stood at the head of li. Similar titles are found in
lOi, llio,27, 25i2,i9, 38i,q, 3?2a ; a solitary
instance occurs later in NU. 3i. 4 They point to a con
tinuous document running through tho whole of Genesis,
and constituting its literary foundation as it now stands.
Part of it is cast in genealogic form, aa in 5, llio-27,

1 In 79, the Samaritan, the Tarsum and the Vulgate read
Yahweh, " no doubt rightly " (Driver).

2 In 77, tho phrase seems due to the compiler.

3 In 73. " male and female" as in 619, is again a harmonising
touch.

* Elsewhere only in Ruth 4i8 and 1 Ch. lay.

126

IGI--O Sometimes it expands into important sec
tions S Divine promise, as in 9x-x7 or 17. These wo

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

tions 01 JJlVine wrumiou, *: >/ - . ,

Sages contain announcements of a covenant couched
Fn parallel terms, with a number of distinctive phrases
whid! reappear in Ex. 62-8. With the he p of these
-ml other links a narrative amounting roughly to at
a quarter of the Book of Genesis may be separate,
out It proves to be a rapid summary of the history
of the human race from its creation which gradual
narrows down to the family of Jacob, and bnnRsthe
veritable patriarch with his descendants into Egypt.
There they increase and multiply (Ex IT> but arc
Oppressed with rigorous service (Ii 3 ), till Mos^brmgs
n the promise^ liberation in the name of Yahweh
S o) Great judgments will accompany their de
fiance and will lead to a solemn act of Divine
adoptkm when Yahweh will take^ Israel for a people
and will be to them a God (rf. gon. 177, Thi g f^

realise"^ thf establishment 4 of the sacred Dwelling

and the worship of which it is the hallowed scene

sequel relates the consummation of the Divine g

he and once promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

which carries the story on into the Hook ot Josnu,.

Inasmuch as this contains the regulations of He

Aaronic priesthood, it is designated by thesymbol P._.

lVnentEe7o7ecflio$ sections have been, removed from

Genesis, there still remain numerous duplicates, which

cannot all be ascribed to the writer who employs the

i Yahweh. For instance there are l,s* nan

three allusions (Gen. 1720 | ., ] l >n -JJ, - i, f>

meanin^ of Ishmael (" God hears ). In this last

passage the designation KM im app< ars. .^^^

^^SSrl&t;F^
ES^^sJi^^itfSiuS

occur in hese connexions, and it presets Elohim as
communicating with the recipients of revela ion
directlv, without the mediation of angeta. Ihe c
Sy vanishes after the careful study of Ex. 3ii-i5.
Here is another account of the self-disclosure of the
Bear in the character of Yahweh, a counterpart of
that in 62. Each passage describes Him as the God
of the forefathers of the people, and each entrust,
Moses with the duty of demanding permission from
Pharaoh for the departure ot the Israelites.
fhuslo oks at the same time back through the genera-
ons of the past and forward to the achievements of
the future. To this second document, . founded on
the view that revelation was progressive ana
sacred name Yahweh was first imparted to Moses, the
nassaces in Genesis incongruous with the toled/wtli
Eook may be provisionally ascribed In current
nomenclature it is known as E (Elohim). I
appears at any length in Gen. 20i-i 7 , though there is
some reason for believing that it may be tracec 1 m
passages in 15 (see the analysis m he Oxford Hexa-
teuch or in Skinner s Omens m IC( , P- 277). Other
extracts mav be seen in 218-21 and 22i-i 3 (m
Yatvxh seems to have been inserted to prepare for
T S _i8- the Svriac retains Elohim), and in large
portions of the" story of Joseph J and E are, how
ever, so similar in style, and are frequently interwoven
BO closely, that their separation is oiten a matte
difficulty, and the efforts of the most skilful analyst!
can only reach probable results.

The first four books of the Pentateuch may thus be
resolved into three main documents, P, J, and &.
Their combination into a united narrative has involved

various small modifications at the hands of successive
editors, and they have no doubt each of them taken
up into themselves elements of various dates, lo I
belongs the great mass of legislation m the middle

it fresh problems. It opens with a discourse of retro-
specV (l6-"5)V~wnlcTi appears to contain allusions
both J and F, On the other hand, in its reference to
the story of the spies (123-28), it ignores the elemen
in Nu 13 now ascribed to P. The great sermon,
which introduce the code in 12-26 are, again, full or
references to J and E, but they contain no clear
references to P. It has already been shown, for
instance, that the account of the making of the Ark
mt 101-0 is inconsistent with that in fcx. d/i-
whi ch belongs to P. In th Deuteronomic legislation
r large amount of the laws in Ex. 20.2-23 is reproduced
often with significant modifications and enveloped

,

to have bc(>n issued at the same tirno and place. The
rec rrin- phrases of the Deuteronomic oratory are
nuie distinct from those of the narratives or tho
Slation of P. They appear repeatedly m the raids
of materials which may be traced back to J and E;
thev show no clear acquaintance with the literary
features any moro than with the historic representa
tions of the 7 Priestly Code. If Dt, 10 22 reckons the

Fl) "The number may well have been borrowed
independently by both P and D from earher tradition
The cenera! result of such investigations is to vmdicat
for Dt a separate and distinct place m the sacred
era ire now combined in our Pentateuch, which
thus represents the union of four .separate works-

P But liow "did these works come into existence, and
how were they united? Only the briefest answers
In be given to these questions. The prevailing view
has been reached through the labours or a long seri^
rf scholars led by Graf (in two essays published at tl
clofe of 1865), Kuenen (1869-70), and We lhausen
?W6) Their investigations lie behind all the most
recent commentaries ; they arc adopted as the foun
dation of the treatment of the history and literature
of Israel in dictionaries and encyclopedias at home and
abroad and they lead to the result that the Pnestly
Code though it opens the Book of Genesis and sun-
plies the framework into which the other documen ,
nave been fitted, is nevertheless the latest of them all.
It has already Ix-en shown that some of the narrative
portSns of D rest upon J and E ; it is therefore later
than those documents (whether separately or in com
bination need not now be asked). Its -dependence
of P implies that it at least made no use of that .great
collection, and that fact suggests the inquiry wither
it had really been compiled when D was written. J ho
answer depends on the story of the religious mstitu-
?,ons which they respectively ordain. Attention has
already been calfed to the striking discrepancy between
the reflations for the tribe of Levi m Dt. and the
Books of Exodus and Numbers (P). It _ can harcUy
be supposed that the stringent rules which f

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

127

the Levitcs to minister at the altar, and reserved the
right of sacrifice to the Aaronic priesthood, could have
been relaxed by a later legislation. Nor could tlvi
ample provision which P lays down for the priestly
maintenance have been permitted to lapse into the
meagre allowance which leads D again and again to
commend the poor Levite to the householder s good
will. The calendar of tho feasts in Dt. 10 requires
the attendance of all male Israelites three; times a year
at the place which Yahweh shall choose, for the feasts
of unleavened broad, the feast of weeks, and the i oa;;t
of booths. With the first of these is associated tho
paasover, which is to be kept in the month Abib
(ear-month), when the corn was ripening in the spring. 1
But P s list adds two other " holy convocations." On
the first day of the seventh month is a " memorial
of
of

with gr

caused it to be known in later times as " The Day."
The prescribed offerings are enumerated in Nu. 29 7- n.
Is not the entire omission of this rite in D a sign that
the Deut&ronomic legislator was unacquainted with
it ? By such lines of reasoning the conclusion was
gradually reached that, whatever might be the anti
quity of dim,- rent elements in the sacrificial practice
of P, the literary form given to its legislation marked
a lat<>r stage in the development of Israel s cultus and
the organisation of its ministry. The constituent
documents of the Pentateuch may, then, be ranged
in the following chronological order J and E, D, P.
Is it possible to ascertain under what conditions they
successively appeared ?

The documents J and E contain no record of the
circumstances under which they were compiled, nor
does history suggest any specific occasion for their
publication. The student is therefore thrown back
upon their internal evidence. It is plain that the
representations of the patriarchal ago rest upon
legends and traditions, often connected with particular
sacred spots. There are snatches of ancient song,
there are" sayings half proverb, half poem in which
long observation of national and tribal circumstances
has been condensed. The writers are not concerned
with history in our modern sense ; they love to recite
the stories of ancient time, told and retold for genera
tions by priests at ancient sanctuaries, by warriors
round the camp-fires, or by shepherds at the wells.
Such narratives were not always on the same plane
of religious thought. Some have tho character of
antique folklore ; some breathe the loftier spirit of a
later day. When Abraham pleads with Yahweh as
" the Judge of all the earth " (Gen. 1825), it is plain
that the author has a more exalted view of the Deity
than that implied in the strange tale that Yahweh
met Moses in an inn on his way back to Egypt and
sought to kill him (Ex. 4=4). Materials of different
ages and values are thus blended, and it is probable
that both the original documents known as J and E
received additions or expansions after their first com
position. Both narratives of the patriarchal age,
however, look forward to the subsequent occupation
of Canaan by the twelve tribes, and both treat them as
constituting a national unit. But no such conception
appears in the age of the Judges. It was the monarchy
which first welded them into one people. The empire
created by David and transmitted to Solomon was
proudly described in later days as extending from tho
Euphrates to the border of Egypt (1 K. 421). Such
were the ideal boundaries of Israel s power ; they uro
1 67. Ex. 34i8il!.. J. and 23i4ii-

announced already in Gun. 15i8 as Yah well s covenant-
gift to Abraham s seed (J) ; they are promised in the
wild -rness to the tribes upon the march (Ex. 2831, E),
In like manner the blessing on Jud.-di (Gen. 49d-io,
incorporated in J) presupposes the establishment oi
tho Davidic kingdom (Skinner, Genesis, in ICC, p. 500),
while the description of Abraham as a " prophet /:
(Gen. 20 /, E) and the grand utterance of Moses,
" would God that all Yahweh s people were prophets "
(Nu. 1129), belong to the age which followed tho rise
of prophecy in the days of Samuel (cf. 1 S. 9g). Wo
are thus led to the period of the early monarchy for
the composition of the two grrafc collections of tradi
tions J and E. The brief legislation which they con
tain the covenant words of J (Ex. 34/0-27) and ti;<-
Book of Judgments in E (Ex. 21-2.") both imply
conditions of agricultural settlement, and prescribe
three feasts in connexion with tho seasons of annual
produce ; while J s demand (Ex. 3426, apparently
adopted editorially into 2819, E) recognises a permanent
sanctuary (" the house, of Yahweh ") instead of a
wandering tent. The problem of determining tho
relation between J and E is more difficult. Both are
penetrated by the same conviction of a Divine purpose
in history ; but whereas J starts with the origin of
the human race and gradually narrows his view to
tho line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, tho first certain
traces of E are to be detected not earlier than Gen.
15. E may, it is true, have described Abraham s
origin beyond the Euphrates, for in Jos. 242 he de
clares that tho forefathers beyond the river wero
idolaters ; the wives of Jacob accordingly bring their
" strange gods " with them (Gen. 3.12-4). E thus
recognises three stages of religious development, the
second being the Elohim-worship of tho patriarchs,
and the third the manifestation of Elohim by the new
name Yahweh to Moses (Ex. 313-15). This implies
a more definite reflection on the progress of revelation
than is evinced by J, who assumes that the sacred
designation had been known from the earliest times.
In view of the less anthropomorphic character of E s
representations of the deity, and tho possibility that
its author was acquainted with J s collection of the
traditions, it is usual to suppose that J was the first
to take written shape. And the importance which its
original author attached to Hebron, tho part played
by Judah in the story of Joseph, and other indications,
support the view that it was produced in the kingdom
of Judah. What may be called the first draft of the
great story from tho first man to tho settlement of
the tribes in Canaan was probabty compiled in the
early monarchy, most likely in the ninth century.
Simple and brief in its primitive shape, it seems to
have received expansions and additions adapting it
to the higher forms of thought. In the first part of
the next century, in the midst of growing wealth and
national prosperity, the writer designated by the symbol
E retold the story of the patriarchs and the Mosaic
age, in the northern monarchy of Ephraim. He too
loved to dwell upon the thought of providential guid
ance, and a large part of the adventures of the great
tribe-father Joseph is due to him. His work probably
preceded the first books of literary prophecy which
have come down to us from Amos and Hosea ; but
the allusions in their discourses are too vague to enable
us to affirm that they were acquainted with either
document. Of tho catastrophe which overthrew the
northern kingdom in 722 B.C. E contains no bint. The
Assyrian peril is not yet in view. Like J, E also seems
to have contained ditiorent deposits of religious tradi
tion, auu. tu L.U.VU boc-ii cuiioiiud with frosh materials,

128

drawn possibly from different groups of sanctuary
ore. Before long, ,t would appear, it was proposed
to combine the t\vo recitals. ,| natural IvWl ?h P ,
and portions of E (often much Stod were ^
sorted m it. In the process of harmoniSg Ih?two
documents some discrepancies, no doubt wo?o pruS
away. But sufficient were left to reveal fact o
their union, even in cases where tho texture of the

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

To distinguish the additions to J and to F <,rr!
the work of the Redactor, IV 1 - j s necessirilv
f great delicacy ; but that such additions have been

r,-o MLS. tf SS%3

5l tSif o|SS

attributed to Moses in tho land" of Moab afteTtbe
conquest of Sihon, king of the Amorites and 0?
king of Bashan. This briefly recites the incidents of
the journeys from Horcb, and, like a subsequent
^course concerning the events at the sacred mo!
am !)t.) ,t rests on the combiiv-d narrative JK it
follojod by an exposition of the " testimonies and
statutes and judgments" delivered bv Moses before
his death which are introduced by a serS of pro!
phetio addresses (5-11), couched in , lofty style 5
eloquence allowing remarkable affinities with thl lan
guage of Joi,miah The laws them.eC are sc f, h

s&^Ut^2hf^^"^

T^C.K,,, *. ii r tlie installation of

ijosnua at me tent of inr>f>t,inr .i,i i\ f i

of the death of Mos,s. U^nt^^^
an examination of the code in 12-20 that i take
and develops the early inflation of Ex 21-23 Com
pare, for example, the following passages :

Ex. 212-6.

2 If thou buy an Ilebi-jw ]-Mf I :,v i ,
servant (or bondman) six years man or , MebS " :1 !fej)ri { w
he shal serve; and in th < -.1 1 * Hebrew (vonian.be
seventh he shal go out fwe .!!." Uo , he ! "" ^rve thee six

p^^iEHj/i te^^?P

rf a^? Vll | i^ h r ^-^

nd f ^e^f^^ "ft l ? " fS^te
daughters; the wif" and her n,v ", ." |V ," "^, and out of

afe^fSsSi^ ^- E ::; F ; - vM^

. 5 But if the servant shall plainly Sve Snto W ^ I h ^ u ^ alt

s^rE s^ -v\p:t!a

B i ha li K b 7 nK ,!i i to God. and thee tlien f,!- . ] J ," 1 m!e! , cmetl
shall bring him unto the door, t! f f thin" W / c> mi w ; A <I l h ^

W^lSSffiiffi^ * n^rifotf U f^^

him b fo a r n e^ : and he Sha " 8 " bJL^e WM^d *tfe
house, because he is well with
thee, J7th.;n thou shalt take
an awl and thrust it through his

be thy bondman for ever.

perpetual enslavement is a religious one. The bond-
nan is to be brought to " Elohim." The most probable
meaning of tins is that the slave was taken to c local
sanctuary, where justice was administered, and the
most august sanction was thus given to the master s
ownership by the symbol of pinning the slaveys ear
to tho doorpost. (But see Ex. 12-*, 2i 6* D< 1 5i )
reference is dropped, and the operation
apparently performed in the house. Why should
3 anc.ont ntual bo thus changed ? It arises from
the fundamental law of the Doutcronomic Code St
12) enjoining the abolition of all centres of cullus
but one. Here the destruction of the ven raWe

r

iomc of uh,ch had been associated by long tradition
with the patriarchs, is sternly enjoined, and worship
is to be stnetly confined to the ono place vhich
Mimself would choose. The student of the

i r7 1 "T 01 ? 2- the prophetic writin s s of

Hosea, Isaiah, and MicaJi, can hardly fail to see that

another hallowed spot, D demands the excTvo
oonoontration of Israel s homage to its D ivfnc *o rd
m on, spot To this end one atf,r another of Tc older
laws is modiiied to suit the new conditions, and tie
ivform,codcMs expanded in noble oratory, em bodySj

proclaimed W fe oh , Mo8e " J^vcd to have S
He it was who had taught Israel that
they should have no other God but Yahweh The
prophets had realised that there was no < [her God?
He it was who lu,d guided the destinies of His people
had d. ; hver.,d them from slavery in Eevpt had kd

LTS^Th^R^^T; T d fl -"y given them

Baal, might be many, Yahweh was

One; obedience and love to Him therefore

involved unswerving devotion and loyalty and I oSrv

vestige of idolatry must be swept away. V u-n was

such a demand first made ? There is no trace Jrt

m the great pt.lcjuio which Elijah wages ajrSnst thr

affSJaSKB

W ? aS been recast ^th new

king sent his secretary, Shaphan, to the Hah Priest

i kiah wi h instructions about the necessary funds

Hilkiah told him that he had found a book of the Law

m the sanctuary. How the discovery was made we

are not told, but critics of all schools are agreed thlt

he book contained the fundamental laws TS It

has been recently conjectured that it was a clay tablet

1 A familiar in

occurs in

_ j i i . | . ^in.i^iiv/1 JLI Clldi clCliGr.

..aci been built into the wall of the Temple bv
Solomon. But a tablet is not a book, nor 3 the
Deuteronomie Code have been inscribed upon so
1 a space. Moreover, nothing whatever is .said
of its being wntten m a different language, or requiring
translation when it was read to the king The 3
which were immediately taken to carrv out its injunc-
as prove beyond doubt that it included D s strenuous
commands for the purification of the worship of Yahweh
lolatrous emblems were removed from the Temple
wem L^rfT, COUntl K the hi S h Places and their altars
rown, the sacred pillars were shattered,
the tree-poles (asheras) were cut down. In par-

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

129

ticular, certain forms of Oriental cults which had
become popular under Josiah s grandfather, Manasseh,
\veie abolished. Mariassch had erected altars in tho
Temple for the great army of the stars (2 K. 21s).
The devotion attracted tho imagination of Jerusalem,
and was sternly rebuked by Jeremiah (82, 19i3). D
prescribes for it the severe penalty of death by stoning
(173-5). and by the prohibition of the practice brings
the composition of the Law Book into the seventh
century B.C., whether under the reign of Manasseh
(698-641 B.C.) or in the years following the accession
of Josiah (639 B.C.) may be left undetermined. Aroum I
the fundamental laws others were gradually grouped,
and the Code was framed in the grand exhortations
which had for their leading theme the love of Yahweh
for His people, and the duty of Israel to love Him and
cleave to Him alono in return. Tho large number of
expressions common to D and Jeremiah l show
that prophetic influences were at work in Israel s
religion which were powerful enough to create a common
vocabulary of thought and speech, in the midst of
great individuality of purpose and expression. The
Dcuteronomio conceptions of history and moulds of
speech may be traced in various parts of the OT, such as
Joshua, Judges, and the Books of Kings ; and it becomes
quite impossible to account for them on the hypothesis
of a retranslation into Hebrew of a translation into
Aramaic by Ezra of cuneiform tablets originally written
by Moses nine centuries before.

The reforms of Josiah were designed to give effect
to the Deuteronomic principle that Israel was a " holy "
people (Dt. 7e). But the overthrow of the Davidic
monarchy seemed to endanger tho bond which Yahweh
had Himself created by choosing Israel as the agent
of His purpose of revelation. To Ezekiel it was im
possible that Yahweh could thus allow His name to
be " profaned " among the nations. A new Israel
must arise, purified from its old sins, and gifted with
spirit that it might walk in Yahweh s statutes and
observe His judgments. So should they be His people
and He would be their God (8624-28), as they returned
onco more to their fathers land. For this regenerated
nation Ezekiel designs a new sanctuary, which is
solemnly filled with the glory of Yahweh, who promises
to dwell there in the midst of the children of Israel
(485-7). A scheme of worship is laid down for the
future, the duties of the priesthood are defined, and
appropriate sacrifices are prescribed. This is no
repetition of D. It is no longer necessary to denounce
the local shrines. The principle of the centralisation
of the cultus is assumed, but a new arrangement is
made concerning the minister at tho altar. D had
provided that the disestablished priests might come up
to the metropolitan Temple and serve there with their
brethren (187-8). The Jerusalem clergy, however,
would not admit the country members of their order
to share either their functions or their income (2 K.
23g), and this difficulty appears to have been the
beginning of a distinction between higher and lower
ranks in the same service. Ezekiel for the first time
announces a division of the sacred tribe into two
branches, one of which shall minister to Yahweh and
the other not. Access to the altar, admission to tho
sanctuary, shall bo reserved for one particular family,
the sons of Zadok (44iof.). Here is a discrimination
hitherto unknown. It is inexplicable had tho Levitical
Law embodied in P been then in existence. The
Aaronic priesthood would have been already in posses
sion of the privileges which Ezekiel promises in the
future to the Zadokites ; and the Levites, for whose

1 Carpenter, Composition of the Sexateuch, 1902. >p. 147 151.

degradation to menial offices Ezekiel endeavours to
find an explanation, would have been long ago pro
hibited from aspiring to any other under pain of death.
Tho ideal arrangements of Ezekiel for tho theocracy
of the restoration stand, therefore, midway between
D and P. Under what circumstances, then, does P
appear for the first timo ? No clear traces of the
Levitical usage as codified in P present themselves
in tho earl_y days of the Second Temple. Even Malachi
identifies the Law of Moses with the legislation in Horeb,
the " statutes and judgments " now summed up in
Dt. 444!?. ; and the priests are " sons of Levi " (83), as
if the right of altar service still belonged (as in D) to
the whole tribe. Not yet have the full priestly claims
been embodied in sacred Law. They are first an
nounced, it would seem, at the great meeting he-Id
under Nohemiah on one autumn day at the end of
September (444 B.C.), 1 when the people gathered in tho
great square before the water-gate (Nell. 81). A larg;;
wooden pulpit had been erected, and there, from early
morning to midday, Ezra read aloud to the assembly
out of " the book of the Law." The story is related
after the type of tho national assembly convoked b}^
Josiah for tho promulgation of the Deuteronomic
Code (cf. 2 K. 23s). The new Law stood in the same
relation to the age of Ezra which D held to tho seventh
century. Josiah s reformation was celebrated by the
observance of a Passover on principles unknown
before (2 K. 2322 ; cf. Dt. 16) ; and similarly, according
to Neh. 814, the Feast of Booths was held for seven
days in joyous thanksgiving, concluding with a solemn
assembly on the eighth day, in accordance with the
ordinance of Lev. 2836. This is tho introduction of
tho Priestly Code.

Like tho other great documents of the Pentateuch,
P does not, however, appear to bo all of one piece. It
contains earlier and later materials, though they are
all combined in one historic framework, and united
by certain common ideas. Just as D showed remark
able affinities with tho language of Jeremiah, so some
portions of P present strong resemblances to the ideas
and phraseology of his younger contemporary Ezekiel.
Through Ezekiel came the Divine promise (3726)
of an everlasting covenant, and a sanctuary in Israel s
midst for evermore : " And my dwelling shall be with
them, and I will be to them for a God, and they shall
be to me for a people " (27). " Sanctuary " is one of
EzekiePa favourite religious terms (thirty times) ; it
occurs in P in the Pentateuch thirteen times (other
wise only in the song, Ex. 15 17). The Mosaic
" sanctuary " is to be made (Ex. 25s), " that I may
dwell in their midst." 2 " And I will dwell in the midst
of the children of Israel, and will be to them for ;-
God " (Ex. 2945 ; cf. 67, "I will take you to me for c.
people, and I will be to you for a God "). The sanctu
ary accordingly is called tho " dwelling " (Ex. 25g).
It stood, like Ezekicl s Temple, in a court, and tho
camp was always so pitched that, like Ezekiel s sacred
house, it should look towards the east. And as the
prophet beheld the " glory of Yahweh " returning
from the east and filling the house (Ex. 43i-6), so does
P describe how, on the completion of the desert
sanctuary, tho " glory of Yahweh filled the dwelling "
(Ex. 40 3 4).

But the parallels with the language of Ezekiel are
still more numerous in a small group of laws now
recognised in Lev. 17-26. 3 Thoy are bound together

1 According to the usual chronology.

2 This word (RV " among ") is of very frequent occurrence in P
to express the Divine Presence in Israel ; cf. 2945, Lev. lusi,
16i6. 2232. 26n, etc.

8 Cf. Carpenter, Composition oj the Hexateuch, pp. 277-284.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

130

by the frequent recurrence of phrases such as " I am
Yahweh," I am Yahweh your God," " I Yahweh am
holy," " I am Yahweh which hallow (sanctify) you,"
and many others. The sanctuary must be carefully
guarded from defilement, and the priesthood must
maintain its ceremonial purity. The social and moral
legislation of Lev. 18-20 contains rules of conduct
that may well bo of venerable antiquity. Some audi
tions have probably been inserted by later hands in
adapting the collection to the general scheme of P;
but there is good reason to believe that, with its con-
eluding exhortation (Lev. 26), it once formed a small
legislative corpus by itself, standing midway between
D and P. Its special concern for the sanctity of Israel
has gained for it the name of the Holiness Code, and
it is sometimes designated by the symbol Ph-

By what steps the final incorporation of the several
documents into our Pentateuch was at last effected
cannot be precisely determined. It is probable that
JE had been united with D into a continuous work
of history and legislation in the early years of the
Captivity, when the story of Israel s past was gathered
up and the records of the monarchy were compiled.
The hand which fitted JED into the framework sup
plied by P cannot be identified. There are even
indications that the "Diatessaron" JEDP received
some additions, notably in the long repetition (Ex.
35-40), some time after the first combination was
effected. ,

The Pentateuch is thus an epitome of the history o:
Israel s religion. 1 Like some great cathedral which has
enshrined the devotion of centuries, its growth must
be inferred from the relations of its parts among them
selves, and the points of contact which can be dis
covered between them and the beliefs and usages
recorded elsewhere. It embodies traditions of im
memorial antiquity, and its authors shape to their own
conceptions elements of ancient Babylonian lore. It
is not surprising, therefore, that it should frankly
reveal that the ancestors of the people were polytheists.
Beyond the Euphrates the forefathers " served other
gods" (Jos. 242 [E]), and Jacob s wives consequently
bring their " strange gods " with them (Gen. 362-4),
among them being the household images which Rachel
carried off, and for which Laban so plaintively inquired,
" Why hast thou stolen my gods?" (Gen. 31 19,30).
Such plurality lies behind some of the narratives of
the primeval age, and even gleams through the tradi
tions of a later day. 2 Three stages may be traced in
Israel s long development as it rises to the full height
of its groat task. They are marked by the three codes
of Law successively embodied in the three great docu
ments JE, D, and P.

The ascription of these codes to Moses follows the
convention of ancient nations, by which, as Prof.
Robertson Smith showed, 3 the continuity of the legal
system was maintained. The new Law was regarded
as a development of the old, and the same sanction
was preserved without disturbance. And Israel, like
its neighbours in Egypt or Babylonia, unhesitatingly
referred them to a Divine source. Beside the Nile,
Osiris was believed to have ordained the worship of
the heavenly powers, appointed the offerings, prescribed
the ceremonies, and even composed the words and
music of the sacred liturgies. Out of the deep came
Ea, lord of wisdom, who proclaimed laws to the

i On the subject of the rest of the article, see also the article on

of ^thah. Jg. 11,3-4- where
Yahweh of Israel and Chemosh of Ammon are represented as

urch. 2nd ed. P. 384.

dwellers by the shore of the Persian Gulf. An ancient
collection of Babylonian precepts, known as the Book
of Ea, defined the duties of the king. The famous
Code of Hammurabi (who reigned about 2100 B.f^. 1 ),
discovered in 1902 at Susa engraved on a block of
black diorite nearly eight feet high, was presented to
the king by the sun-god Shamash, " judge of heaven
and earth " (p. 51). This was the mode in which the
reverence of antiquity for the mysteries of religion
found expression. The sanctions of law on which
national welfare and social order depended could be
no other than Divine.

The earliest legislation in JE, accordingly, marks
the first stage of Israel s religious observance. The
command, " Thou shalt have none other gods before
mo " (Ex. 20s), does not deny the existence of other
gods, but it pledges Israel to the sole worship of Yahweh.
Loyalty to Him who had brought them out of Egypt
and given them their land demanded that they should
honour Him alone. But the requirements of the cultus
are extremely simple. They may make no images of
gold or silver, but they may rear an earthen altar for
their sacrifices anywhere. The local sanctuaries, con
secrated by age-long tradition, stood beside the fertilis
ing well, the sacred tree, or on the hill-top. At such
places the " firstborn" of Yahweh (Ex. 422) might pay
the sacred dues and keep the annual feasts. Separating
themselves from the idolatrous usages of the Canaanito
peoples, they must remember that they were hallowed
or set apart to their God. What kind of conduct did
this imply ? The only holiness rule in the First Legis
lation is a food law (Ex. 2231) : " Ye shall be holy
men unto me ; therefore ye shall not eat any flesh
that is torn of beasts in the field ; ye shall cast it to
the dogs." Here is the first faint note of the call to
ritual purity which was afterwards to grow so exacting.
This kind of holiness has nothing to do with morality
Buch as is enforced in the Ten Words now incorporated
in E (Ex. 20), but the ethical element was growing
stronger and stronger. Antique legend might depict
Yahweh as going to find out whether the wickedness
of Sodom and Gomorrah was really as great as report
alleged, but to Abraham He is already the " judge of
all the earth," who must do right. Monotheism is
trembling into full consciousness. Yet, while Elijah
and Elisha led the contest for Yahweh against the
Tyrian Baal, they left the aslieras or tree-poles at the
high places untouched, and made no attack on the
calf-worship at Bethel, which Amos and Hosea de
nounced afterwards as " Samaria s sin." The first
codes of JE, therefore, may be taken to represent the
general aim of religion at the beginning of the eighth
century B.C.

But the higher prophecy of that great age demanded
something more. It reached the sublime conviction
of the sole Deity of Yahweh. That majestic Power,
which reached from the sky to the underworld (Am. 9z),
encompassed the whole earth, and guided the move
ments of other nations as well as Israel. Its champions,
therefore, demanded the extinction of all idolatries.
Doom must descend upon a disloyal people, and Isaiah
could describe the Assyrian invader as the " rod of
Yahweh s anger " ; but its strokes would not be fatal ;
Zion should be purged and become a " citadel of
righteousness, the Faithful City." The Assyrians
came and Jerusalem survived the shock, but in the
1 The chronology is very uncertain. Recent estimate^ vary
Mr L W Kins in Enc. Brit, (llth ed. vol. in. p. 103) identifies the
thirtieth year of his reign with 2340 B.C. Eduard Meyer, (Jwcft . *i
Merthums.* i. 2, p. G85, assigns his reign to 1958-1 01 e i B.C.
Kyi Tin Genesis. CB. (1914). tentatively suggests about 2150. p.
167 ; but on p. 179 cites Ungnad s date 2130-2088. Dnver. about
2100.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

131

next century under Manasseh the very existence of
Yahwehism was endangered. All kinds of foreign cults
were encouraged ; they were pursued by the court,
they were installed in the Temple. In a single sen
tence, " Manasseh shed innocent blood very much,
till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another "
(2 K. 21 1 6), the historian describes the first of those
martyr-ages which were again and again to test
Israel s fidelity. Under such circumstances prophecy
girded itself for a new effort. It could no longer
remain abstract and ideal ; it must enter the field of
reform and cleanse the national worship of all cor
ruptions, old and new. " Cast out every Canaanite
or Assyrian abomination, destroy idol and tree-pole
and pillar, abolish every altar where the sacred rites
may be contaminated, admit no sacrifice but at the
place of Yahweh s own choice " this was the pro
gramme of the Deuteronomic Code. This was the
practical side of prophecy, as it sought to secure the
fruits of the labours of the century before. Holiness
now meant something more than abstinence from meat
not properly killed. II* was the response of Israel,
small as it might be among the nations, to the gracious
choice of Yahweh (Dt. ?6-s). No ritual could ade
quately express this response. Reverent obedience
might, indeed, fulfil outward commands, but the
Divine love appealed for something more. The whole
moral and spiritual energies of the people must be
dedicated to their great Deliverer : " Thou shalt love
Yahweh thy God with all thine heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy might " (Dt. 65).

This far-reaching principle marks the second stage
of Israel s legislative advance. On this basis the first
Codes were recast ; outwardly in favour of the sanctuary
at Jerusalem, inwardly in favour of a worship which
could be practised everywhere " in spirit and in truth."
But there were many steps to be trodden before that
consummation could be reached. The Deuteronomic
principle was the immediate antecedent of Jeremiah s
vision of a " new covenant " which should supersede
the old by writing the Divine teaching on men s hearts
(Jer. 3133!). But for a time the pressure of events
was too strong. The Temple which Josiah so dili
gently cleansed was again defiled. In 586 B.C. the
troops of Nebuchadrezzar entered Jerusalem and
burnt it. Were the truths attained by the prophets
to be lost ? Was the religion of Yahweh to be ex
tinguished ?

Among the exiles was the priest-prophet Ezekiel.
As he looked back over the past, the story of Israel s
unfaithfulness cut him to the heart. But his convic
tion of Yahweh s transcendent purpose triumphs over
all hopelessness. From the death of sin the nation
shall arise once more, dowered with a now heart,
ready to keep the judgments of their God. So once
more does Prophecy prepare in his person to wear
the mask of Law. Through the clear air he sees the
ancient land ; it is divided anew. The holy house
stands again upon the holy mount. The holy tribe
is parted into two orders the priests who minister
at the altar to Yahweh Himself, and the Levites who
shall keep the gate and kill the victims for sacrifice,
but shall not come near to any of the holy things.
There would Yahweh make His " dwelling " (RV
" tabernacle ") with His people, and would be their
God (Ezek. 4379 and 3727). So the way is prepared
for the third stage of Pentateuchal legislation. Early
drafts for the development of the conception of holi
ness are embedded in the oldest portions of the Holi
ness Code (Lev. 17-26), and at length a new programme
for the future is produced in the shape of an ideal

delineation of the past. The Deuteronomic Code
belonged to a polity that had ceased to be. The
monarchy was gone, it needed no more regulation.
New elements of thought and life had risen into im
portance ; new ideas, especially the sense of national
sinfulness, now needed expression. This was the
object of the Priestly Code produced under Ezra and
Nehemiah. Its fundamental principle is laid down
in one of its oldest sections in the sublime command.
" Be ye holy, for I, Yahweh, your God, am holy "
(Lev. 192). Yahweh was holy because His nature
transcended everything earthly and unclean. His
holiness really involved the totality of His attributes
as deity. In this sense truly He was beyond Israel s
imitation. But His people could keep themselves
from everything defiling and impure ; and this kind
of holiness had a moral as well as a ceremonial char
acter. On one side it might express itself in a variety
of minute ordinances, designed to secure immunity
for certain groups of persons from ritual pollution ;
on the other, it might embrace all social relations under
one comprehensive injunction, " Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself " (Lev. 19x8). And to ensure
the discharge of these demands for sanctity, the sacred
Presence was conceived as abiding in the midst of the
nation, and thus distinguishing it from any other on
the face of the earth. It is, then, hardly surprising
that the Priestly Code should contain prescriptions
that seem incompatible. On the one side is the whole
scheme of holy things vessels, robes, furniture, and
sanctuary ; of holy persons the lower Levites, the
superior priests, with the High Priest as the unique
representative of the whole nation before God ; of
holy days from week to week, of solemn festivals,
culminating in the great annual ceremony of confession
and propitiation, known in later usage as " The Day."
On the other hand is the sublime picture of the Holy
One symbolically " dwelling " in His people s midst.
He demands that they shall resemble Him, and how
can these minute details of ritual serve that end ?
In the light of fuller truth we can see their inconsistency,
but in the light of history we can also see how needful
each element was to the other. Ezra and the Scribes
completed Israel s religion. The Law was the vehicle
through which the gains of the higher prophecy were
preserved and incorporated in the national life. The
framers of the Levitical Code did what the Isaiahs
had been unable to do ; but without the Isaiahs they
could not have done it. They created what a later
seer could describe as " the righteous nation which
keepcth truth " (Is. 26a). In the Temple service and
in the simple worship of the synagogue the emotions
of joy and thankfulness were poured forth in hymn
and prayer. Obedience became a delight, the Law
was Israel s privilege. It restored the soul, it en
lightened the eyes (Ps. 197-14) ; the secret of happi
ness lay in meditating on it day and night (Ps. la) ;
the persecutor might lay his snares, but the loyal
worshipper would perform the statutes for ever, even
to the end (Ps. 119iio-ii2). The piety of the Pss.
is the fruit of this call to holiness. The " saints," so
full of love and trust, waiting for Yahweh to show
them the path of life ; the poor and meek, so patient,
under suffering ; the faithful, who endured torture
and death rather than disobey the commandment
these were the holy people nurtured under the Law.
Here was the power which nerved Judaism to resist
the attack of Antiochus Epiphanes (in December
168 B.C. an altar to Olympian Zeus was erected
on the great altar in the Temple court). Thus
was the way prepared for prophetism to reappear

132

in the still nobler form of the Gospel. Its essential
aim was set five from the limitations of ancient
ritual, and transfigured into the final goal of all
religion, " Bo ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect."

Literature. Wellhausen, ])it Compos/I ion <7,:s Jlixa-
teuchs, Prolegomena io the History of Jfrcicl ; Kucncn
The Hexaieuch ; Driver, Literature of the OT (Dili eel
1913) ; articles in HDB and EBi ; Carpenter and Har-

INTRODUCTION TO TEE PENTATEUCH

ford, Composition of the Hexatcuch (1902);
The Document* of l/ic Ilcmicuc/,, ,- A. T. Chapman
Introduction to the Hcxateuch ; McNeiJe, Deuteronomy,
Its Place in Revelation (1912) ; D. C. Simpson, Penta-
teuchal Criticism (1914) ; Ei.selen. The Books of the
lentateuch ; Skinner, The Divine Names in Genesis
,1914); commentaries in ICC, West. 0, CB. Cent B
KEH, HK KHC ; Steuernagel, Lehrbuch der Einldtmw
m das AT (1912).

GENESIS

BY THE EDITOR

TEH English title of the book goes back through the
Vulg. to the LXX. It stands for the origin or creation
of the world, the subject of the opening chapters.
The usual Heb. title is B e reshith, " In the beginning,"
taken, as was commonly done, from the first word of
the book. It is composed for the most part from tho
three documents, J, E, P, which are found also in
.Ex., NU., and Jos. The general grounds for tho
analysis may be seen in tho Introduction to the Penta
teuch. The detailed analysis of this book, with reasons,
is given in the commentary. In spite of" persistent
assertions to tho contrary, there is no room for reason
able doubt that these documents are really present,
and that the distribution of the matter among them
has been in large measure successfully achieved. The
sections belonging to P have been identified with tho
greatest certainty. But while it is frequently incon
testable that a section belongs to JE, the fusion of
the two documents has often been effected with such
skill that their disentanglement is inevitably both
delicate and difficult. For the non-Mosaic character
of the book and tho elate of the documents it incor
porates see the Introduction to the Pentateuch.

From the literary we pass to tho historical problems.
, It is pointed out elsewhere (pp. 123f.) that even the
1 later books of the Pent, contain many inconsistencies
: which prove that they cannot be a record of literal
history. This is even more emphatically tho ease
1 with Gen. The literary analysis is not based exclusively
or even mainly on differences in vocabulary and style,
but on inconsistencies in statement which prove that
the record is not impeccable in its accuracy. Here it
may suffice to mention the discrepancies in the narra-
tivcs of Creation and the Flood, the different accounts
given as to tho origin of the names Beersheba, Bethel,
and Israel, the variations as to the names of Esau s
wives. The story as it stands raises insuperable
chronological difficulties. As illustrations we may
take Sarah s adventure with Pharaoh when she was
more than 05 and with Abimelech when she was
89; the sending of Jacob to marry into his mother s
family when he was 77, and his actual marriage at
84 (p. 157) ; the representation of Benjamin as quite
youthful when he was tho father of ten sons ; the
crowding of all the events in Gen. 38, together with the
birth of two sons to Perez (4Gi2), into 22 years, so
that Judah becomes a grandfather in much less than
10 years.

Apart from internal inconsistencies there are in
trinsic incredibilities. That the story of the Deluge
is not unvarnished history is shown in tho Introduction
to it. The narrative of creation cannot be reconciled
with our present knowledge except by special pleading
which verges on dishonesty. Tho period allowed for
human history is far too short ; nor can we suppose
that angels mated with women and begat a race of
demigods (61-4).

Onc-e this is recognised, better justice can be done
to the character of the book, and the extent to which
it contains actual history can be made; the subject
of dispassionate inquiry. It is a modern prejudice to
suppose that historical inaccuracy is incompatible with
genuine revelation, or that myth and legend are un
worthy vehicles for the communication of spiritual
truth. Myth and legend, like poetry and parable,
often convey religious teaching much more effectively
than bare historical narrative.

The line between myth and legend is hard to draw,
but the general distinction is clear. Dr. Skinner says :
Tho practically important distinction is that the
legend does, and the myth does not, start from tho
plane of historic fact. The myth is properly a story
of tho gods, originating in an impression produced on
the primitive mind by the more imposing phenomena of
nature, while legend attaches itself to the personages
and movements of real history " (ICC, p. viii). Much
in Gen. 1-11 is of mythical origin ; but it has been
purified in various degrees by the religious genius of
Israel and the spirit of revelation. The most naked
piece of mythology is the story of the angel marriages
(61-4), which was once, no doubt, much grosser.
There are mythical elements in the story of the Tower
of Babel. The narrative of Eden is rich in mythical
traits : the garden of Yahweh where He walks after
tho heat of tho day is over ; the formation of man
from the dust and of woman from the rib of man ; the
magical trees, one conferring immortality, the other
supernatural knowledge ; the F.erpent gifted with
wisdom and the power of speech ; the cherubim and
tho whirling fiery sword. The priestly narrative of
creation (li-24) is ultimately derived from a frankly
mythical story, still known to us in its Babylonian
forms, but the striking feature is the all but complete
obliteration of mythology. The same applies to the
story of tho Deluge. But if this originated in a
historical event it belongs primarily to the category
of legend, though in Babylonia it is legend turned
into myth. Possibly tho story of Cain and Abel, the
curse on Canaan, and the blessing of Shorn and Japheih
refer to the relations of historic or prehistoric peoples.
In the patriarchal history the mythical element is
naturally much less prominent. The wrestling of
Jacob (8224-32) is the most striking example. Tho
story of his encounter with the angels at Mahanaim
(32 if.) may be a faded variant of the samo theme.
His vision at Bethel of the angels passing up and down
to heaven on the ladder (28ia) and the visit of the
three heavenly beings to Abraham (18) have also a
mythical colour. There may possibly be some con
nexion between the twelve sons of Jacob and the
twelve signs of the Zodiac. We should have to recog
nise the thoroughly mythical character of the patri
archal narratives it we supposed with E. Meyer that
the patriarchs were originally deities, or with Winckler

134

GENESIS

that the stories are to be interpreted in terms of the
astral mythology. The tangible evidence for the
former view is extremely slight, and much of it capable
of a less far-fetched explanation ; the latter would
involve the acceptance of a far-reaching theory which,
in the judgment of most scholars, has not been .sub
stantiated, while this interpretation in particular is
open to additional objections of its own. A more
tenable view would be that the leading personalities
were nations or tribes. It is in fact probable that
at certain points tribal is disguised as personal history.
Possibly, as already mentioned, Cain and Abel, more
probably Shem, Japheth, and Canaan, should be so
interpreted. So also the story of Judah in 38 (cf. p. 162).
Similarly, the story of Joseph s residence in Egypt,
where he was subsequently joined by his father and
brothers, might point to successive Hebrew migrations
into Egypt. The birth of Benjamin after Jacob s
return from Paddan-aram might express the fact that
the tribe was formed after the settlement in Palestine.
Similar interpretations might be put on the separation
of Abraham and Lot, the story of Reuben and Bilhah,
and that of Shechem and Dinah. Still, many of these
instances are very dubious. It is important to observe
that large sections of the history do not lend them
selves to this interpretation. In the main the narra
tives about Abraham do not, nor those about Isaac,
nor yet those about Joseph. The two most plausible
instances are those of Jacob and Esau, and Jacob and
La ban. The former are supposed to reflect the relations
between Israel and Edom, the latter those between
Israel and Syria. The narrative itself suggests this
interpretation for the former. The prenatal struggles
of Jacob and Esau prefigure the struggles of the nations,
the elder of which is to serve the younger (2023).
This is practically endorsed in the blessings of Isaac
(2727-29,39!), but with the addition that Esau will
ultimately break off the yoke of Jacob. Yet the
actual story is far from reflecting the later relations.
Of course the bitterest antagonism between the two
peoples belongs to the period after the destruction of
Jerusalem, and such a hymn of hate as Is. 34 or
63 1-6 would not have expressed Israel s feeling in the
pre-exilic period. But Israel s subjugation of Edom
in war is not very aptly represented by the narrative
in Gen. Jacob buys the birthright by driving a hard
bargain with Esau ; he obtains the blessing by cheating
and falsehood. Esau s anger is not pushed to ex
tremities. Jacob secures his brother s friendship by
grovelling submission and a very substantial present,
and there is no suggestion of any hostility after his
settlement in Palestine. Nor does the story of Jacob
and La ban, closing with the friendly compact not to
violate each other s territories, at all agree with the
bitter and prolonged antagonism between Israel and
Syria in the period of the monarchy.

The various attempts to interpret the patriarchs
as gods, nations, or tribes are thus open to very
serious objections. It is accordingly safer to recognise
that the leading figures in the story were actual
personalities. But this, of course, does not guarantee
the stories in detail. The discrepancies sufficiently
show this. The same incident is related with refer
ence to more than one character or different accounts
are given of the same thing. Comparative study shows
the reappearance in our book of tales and motifs
familiar in the folklore of other nations. Few things
are more familiar than the way in which incidents or
sayings originally anonymous gravitate to famous
names. And it is not inopportune to point out that
archaeological investigation has so far done nothing

to rehabilitate any stories which a sober criticism has
doubted, or to give the patriarchs any definite position
in the history of their time. The crucial case here is
that of Chedorlaomer s expedition (14), and this is
examined in the introduction to that chapter. Fidelity
in depicting local or national conditions is no guarantee
of historicity, especially where conditions remain stable
for many centuries.

Attention should be called to one feature which has
played a prominent part in the creation or moulding
of narratives in our book. Many of the stories are
jutiological, that is, they supply an answer to the
question, What gave rise to such customs, instincts,
conditions, names as those with which we arc familiar ?
The story of Eden answers several sucli questions
(p. 139). The story of Babel not only accounts for
the existence of an unfinished or dilapidated tower,
but explains why it is that although peoples have all
a common parentage, they speak such different
languages. Similar examples are the accounts as to
the origin of the arts and modes of life, music, metal
work, city building, vine culture and the manufacture
of wine, the pastoral occupation. So, too, the origin
of such a rite as circumcision or the taboo on the
sinew of the hip, natural phenomena such as the
rainbow and the desolate condition of the Dead Sea
region. The land system of Egypt, so different from
that of the Hebrews, is traced to Joseph s policy of
turning the necessities of the famine to the royal
interest. Explanations arc given as to the origin of
names : Eve, Cain, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Moab,
Ben-ammi, Islunael, Isaac, Jacob, Edom, Jacob s
children, Perez, Manassch, and Ephraim ; and among
names of places, Beer-lahai-roi, Zoar, Beersheba,
Bethel, Mizpah, Mahanaim, Peniel, Succoth, Abel-
mizraim.

A few words may be added on the religious and
moral value of the book. Happily this does not
depend upon its historical accuracy. Nothing shows
more impressively the power of Israel s religion than
a comparison between the polytheistic and unmoral
stories of Creation and the Mood in their Babylonian
forms and the pure monotheism and stern ethical
quality of the Hob. narratives. Heathen material
has been used, but it has been filled with the spirit
of Israel s religion (p. 51). The conception of God,
especially in tno older documents, is often anthropo
morphic, but genuine religion does not really suffer
through a quality for which allowance can readily be
made, which was specially helpful in earlier days for the
concrete and vivid reality it gave to the idea of God,
and which still invests the stories with much of their
deathless charm. If the theological and ethical state
ments scattered through the book were to be collected
they would include much moral and spiritual truth
clothed with a worthy expression. But what is most
precious would have escaped us. It is not the explicit
formulation of principles and beliefs, nor even these
distilled from the narratives, it is the narratives
themselves as they stand which yield us most for
edification, guidance, and inspiration. The records
hold up the mirror to nature, they depict for us actual
situations in which our common thoughts and emotions
find ample play. Many types of character are here,
no lifeless blocks on which the moralist sets off his
wares, but warm and living, a human heart beating
in the breast and human blood throbbing through the
veins. As contributions to scientific history our esti
mate of their value may be reduced ; as channels of
instruction, warning, stimulus, they remain unimpaired, ,

we might say enhanced in value, since attention ia

GENESIS, I. 1-IL 4a

135

now concentrated on the abiding content rather than
the transitory form. The surest way in which to gain
from them the best they have to give us is not to be
seeking over-anxiously for their moral, but to permit
them to make their own impression through intimate
familiarity with them, aided by close study of the
best which has been written about them.

Literature. Commentaries : () Driver (West. C),
Bennett (Cent. B), Ryle (CB), Mitchell ; (6) Skinner
(ICC), Spurrell; (c) *Dillmann (KEH), *Delitzsch,
Holzinger (KHC), Gunkel (HK, SAT), Procksch; (d)
F. W. Robertson, Lecturer on Genesis, Dods (Ex.B),
Strahan, Hebrew Ideals. Other Literature : Discussions
in OT Introductions and in Dictionaries of the Bible ;
Ball, Genesis (SBOT Hob.), Wade, The Book of Genesis,
Bacon, The Genesis of Genesis, Budde, Die biblische
Urgeschichte, Ryle, Early Narratives of Genesis, Gordon,
The Early Traditions of Genesis.

I. l-II. 4a. The Priestly Story of Creation.-
This section belongs to the Priestly Document (P).
This is shown by the use of several of its character
istic terms, by the constant repetition of the formulas,
and by the formal arrangement. P s interest in the
origin of religious institutions is displayed in the
explanation of the origin of the Sabbath. The lofty
monotheism of the section is also characteristic of
his theological position.

The story rests upon a much older tradition,
mainly, it would seem, Babylonian in its origin.
There are several striking parallels with the Baby
lonian creation legend. The " deep " or watery
chaos (tehom) (\2) corresponds to the Babylonian
Tiamat. Darkness is over this chaos. There is a
rending of sky and earth from each other, and the
creation of a solid expanse or firmament which divides
the upper waters from the waters of the earth, and
in which the heavenly bodies are placed. There are
also serious differences, due largely to the absence
of the polytheistic and mythological element from the
Biblical account (p. 51). Even if the Spirit of God
that broods over the abyss is a remnant of myth
ology, yet the Hebrew account represents God as
existing before the creative process begins, and as
willing and controlling it, whereas in the Babylonian
legend the gods come into existence during the pro
cess. Nor is there any trace of opposition between
the abyss and the creative power in Genesis ; though
it is not said that chaos was created by God, it rather
seems to have an independent existence beside Him.
The Phoenician cosmogony presents striking parallels,
such as the existence at first of chaos and spirit,
and the egg, from which the universe was produced,
which seems to be implied in the Hebrew narrative
in the reference to the brooding of the Spirit. It
is probable, in spite of the striking differences,
that the Biblical account has its ultimate origin in
the Babylonian mythology rather than that both are,
as Dillmann thinks, independent developments of
a primitive Semitic myth. Gunkel has argued
forcibly that the work of creation was explained by
analogy from the rebirth of the world in spring after
the winter, OP in the morning after the night, and
that the phenomena depicted can have been sug
gested only in an alluvial country like Babylonia.
But it has derived elements from other sources, espe
cially Phoenician and possibly Egyptian. It appears
to have been formed in Palestine, for the puri
fication of the story would involve a long process,
and one which would be complete only at a late
point in the pre-exilic period. In its present form
it is probably not earliec than the exile, and was

presumably written on Babylonian soil. But it is
most unlikely that the Priestly writer, belonging, as
he did, to the rigid school of Ezekiel, should have
borrowed consciously from Babylonian mythology.

At what time this myth reached Israel is muich
disputed. Some think the Hebrews brought it with
them from Mesopotamia ; others place it in the period
known to us from the Tell el-Amarna tablets (about
1450 B.C.) when Babylonian culture exerted great
influence on Western Asia and Egypt ; others again
think of the period of Assyrian rule over Judah.
It is unlikely that the Hebrews, even if they brought
the Babylonian legend with them from Mesopo
tamia, would preserve it through all their subsequent
experiences. More probably they derived it from the
Canaanites, who may have learnt it from the Baby
lonians in the Tell el-Amarna period (see p. 51). We
can thus account for the Canaanite elements that
appear to have been incorporated. Some scholars
hold that the Hebrews elaborated the creation doctrine
at a late period. This does not at all follow from the
silence of the earlier prophets, even if, as is not
unlikely, the creation passages in Amos are a later
addition (pp. 551, 554). For these prophets had little
occasion to speak of it. And there are references in
the other literature which seem to be early. This is
specially true of the creation story in Gen. 2. And
in Solomon s dedication words at the consecration
of the Temple, restored by Wellhausen from the
LXX (p. 298), we read " Yahweh hath set the sun
in the heavens." So also in Ex. 20n, which, even
if a later addition to the Decalogue, is probably
pre-exilic, we read that " in six days Yahweh made
heaven and earth." It would be strange if, when
the surrounding peoples had creation narratives,
Israel had none.

Whether the Priestly writer himself originated the
division into six days is uncertain. It is clearly
later than the enumeration of the works as eight.
For in order to get eight works into six days it has
been necessary to put two works on the third and
two on the sixth day ; and in neither case is the
pair well matched ; in the former we have the
separation of land and water combined with the
creation of vegetation, in the latter land-animals and
man are created on the same day, though from the
lofty position assigned to man, we should have
expected his creation to have taken place on a day
reserved for it. But the six days work and the
seventh day s rest are probably not due to the Priestly
writer. The Sabbath rest for God is so anthropo
morphic an idea, that P, who does not represent
God as subject to human limitations and affections,
must have borrowed it from an older source. Both
the six days work and seventh day s rest are found
in Ex. 20n. If this ia dependent on our passage,
it yields no evidence for an earlier origin of the six
days scheme. But although it does not occur in
the Deuteronomic version of the Decalogue, the
reason for the commandment substituted in Dt. 615
probably had its origin in the humane spirit of the
Deuteronomic legislation. The differences between
Ex. 20n and Gen. 2z are also of a kind to exclude
the dependence of the former on the latter. It may,
therefore, be assumed that not only the division of
creation into eight works but the period of six days
lay ready to the author s hand. As it is not found
in the Babylonian or Phoenician cosmogonies, it
seems probable that the six days scheme is of Israel-
itish origin. The eight works may have been borrowed
ultimately from a foreign source.

136

GENESIS, I. l-II. 4a

Those who are interested in the once burning
question as to the relation between this narrative and
modern science should consult the very thorough
discussion in Driver s Commentary. Here it must
suffice to say that the value of the narrative is not
scientific but religious ; that it imperils faith to
insist on literal accuracy in a story which can
only by unjustifiable forcing be made to yield it ; that
it was more in harmony with the method of inspira
tion to take current views and purify them so that
they might be fit vehicles of religious truth than to
anticipate the progress of research by revealing
prematurely what men could in due time discover
for themselves ; and finally that even if this narra
tive could be harmonised with our present knowledge,
we should have the task of harmonising the very
different narrative in the second chapter both with the
present story and with modern science. (See further
p. 12.)

I. 1-5. Since the formula " These are the genera
tions of " is usually placed by P at the beginning
of a section, whereas here it occurs at the end (24),
it is thought by many that its present position is
duo to its removal from the. beginning of this chapter,
and that the story opened with the \V >nls " These
are the goner,- t ions ol i-th."

But this implies a dill-

what we find elsewhere in P, who employ!-: it io express
what is produced by the person mentioned.- The
clause may be an addition. S-.-vev.ii s< holar.-. conned;
I with 3, rendering " In the beginning when God
created the. heaven and the earth (no\v the earth
. . . . the wafers), then God said, Let there }r.
light : and there war, light." This makes the ereatioi;
of light the main point, tin- erculion of heaven and
earth serving simply to date God s command "Let
there be light." But surely th<> cr-ation of light
thus receives an excessive emphasis, while the p
of 2 in a parenthesis n\:< kes the verv awk

ward and involved. Ifc is bet: -in the RV T

rendering, according to which i is an independent
sentence. It is possible that this verse narrates
the creation of the primeval chaos, described in 2 ;
but, since heaven and earth an ;- \thcr than

chaos, it is far more likely that it gives in a
summary form what is to be told in detail in th -
rest of the chapter. To us the word " create !"
most naturally suggests to ci -if nothing.

But whether this was the writer s view or not, the
term probably does not express it. Its meaning L;
uncertain; most usually it is given as to cut v or
"to carve." It is characteristic, of. and is general } ,
though not invariably, found in late writings, but
it does not follow that it must be a comparatively
late word. Neither here nor elsewhere is (Scripture
committed to the doctrine of absolute creation.
Heb. US* does not assert creation out of nothing;
it denies creation from " tilings which do appear,"
i.e. out of the phenomenal. Basilides the Gnostic,
who tauglit in the former part of the second century
A.D., was perhaps the first to teach it (sco Hatch,
Hibbert Lectures, pp. 195f.) ; earlier statements often
quoted may be otherwise explained. 2 describes
the condition of things before this Divine action
began. " The earth," as we know it, had not come
into being, but the writer uses the word to describe
the formless mass, in which were confused together
the elements God wo cild disentangle to make the
ordered universe. This chaos was illumined by no
ray of light, the deep lay under a thick pall of dark
ness, and over its surface the spirit of God was already

brooding (mg.), as a bird on the eggs in its nest. Are
we to suppose that the brooding has a similar result ?
Milton s invocation to the Spirit :

" Thou from the first

Wast, present, and with mighty wings outspread,
Dove-like Fiitst brooding on the vast abyss,
And inad st it pregnant : "

corresponds to the impression made on the modern
reader ; but it is questionable whether it is that
intended by the writer, who regards creation a,
achieved simply by God s word. The term " spirit ol
God " is not to be interpreted through later theo
logical usage and identified with the Holy Spirit ;
more probably it is an expression for the life-giving
energy of God. Perhaps we have here a relic of a
mythological feature in the original story, which
may have told how the gods came into existence
through this brooding over the world-egg, a thought
which the severe monotheism of Israel could not
tolerate.

Such, then, was this dark chaotic confusion before
God Himself began to act upon it. There are eight
creative acts, each introduced with the formula "And
God said." There is no manipulation of matter by
God s fingers, but all is achieved by God s word, which
is living and active, and instinct with Divine power.
" By this effortless word God called the various orders
of creation into existence and carried to completion
His stupendous task. Here there is no conflict with
the hostile demon of darkness and chaos as in the
Babylonian myth, no struggle to bend the reluctant
matter to His will, no laborious shaping and mould
ing of raw stuff into the finished product, but the
mere utterance of the word achieves at once and
perfectly the Di vine intention" (Peake, Heroes and
Martyrs of Faith, pp. 27f.). And just as, after dark
ness and sleep, the light comes that man may go
forth to his work till the night closes in when no
man can work, so after the eternal night which has
rested on the abyss, light comes, to be followed by
God s creative work. For the Hebrews light and
<i,:ikness were "physical essences" (Cheyne), each
having its own abode (Job 88191.), from which each
in turn issued to illumine or darken the world.
When light was first created, it streamed out into
the darkness, and mingled with it as one fluid with
another. But such a confusion it is the purpose of
creation to overcome, so God separates the light
from the darkness. This separation is partly tem
poral, as 5 indicates; each has a period in the
-.--[our hours in which to function, yielding
th.n the field to the other. But the temporal rests
on a local separation. The two are disentangled,
and then each is assigned first its local habitation
(Job 38191.), then its period of operation. Light
is thus not due to the heavenly bodies, which come
into being only on the fourth day ; it has an indepen
dent existence. And it is entirely adequate to its
purpose, for God pronoxmces it good," by which
He means that it corresponded to His design, the
result was precisely what He had intended. To the
light He gives the name of Day, to the darkness the
name Night. The temporal mingling of light and
darkness, which we call twilight, is much briefer in
Palestine or Babylonia than in our northern climes.
Thus the work of the first day, reckoned probably
from morning to morning, is accomplished. The
period of light is followed by evening and darkness,
which comes to an end with the next morning,
when the second day begins. Render, " And evening

GENESIS, I. 24-31

137

came, and morning came, one day" (Driver), and
similarly throughout the chapter.

6-8. AVhen, on the second morning, light resumes
the sway which had been interrupted by the night,
God begins the task of evolving order out of chaos.
First He makes a " firmament," by which is meant a
solid vault over-arching the earth. Then the waters
of the abyss are divided into two portions, one of
which is placed above this firmament, to constitute
the waters of the upper or heavenly ocean, the
other left where it was, to form " the deep that
coucheth beneath" (Gen. 4925). This, & must
be understood, is not identical with the ocean, though
the ocean issued from it (Job 38s-n) ; it is beneath
both sea and land. It feeds the sea through open
ings in the bed of the ocean, " the springs of the sea "
(Job 8816*) or "the fountains of the great deep"
(Gen. 7n). In the vault of the sky there are
"windows" (Gen. 7n) or sluices ("the channel for
the waterflood," Job 8825*) ; when these are opened
the waters of the heavenly ocean stream down on the
earth in the form of torrential rain. The repre
sentation of the division of the waters of the abyss
probably goes back to the Babylonian account of the
division of the corpse of Tiamat by Marduk after
that deity had vanquished her. We are told that
he split her in two like a flat fish, and made one
half a covering for the heaven ; then he fixed a bar and
set a watchman, bidding them not let her waters
escape. The other half of the corpse is said by
Berossus (third century B.C.) to have been made into
the earth ; and we can hardly doubt that, though
this is not explicitly stated in our cuneiform sources, it
correctly represents the authentic Babylonian view.
The formula " and it was so " has been accidentally
transferred from its proper place at the end of 6,
where the LXX reads it, to the end of 7. The
omission of the clause "and God saw that it was
good " may be accidental, the LXX reads it after
" heaven."

9-13. Two acts are assigned to the third day,
the separation of land and water, and the creation
of vegetation. The former was apparently effected
by the draining of the waters which covered the
land into a receptacle (for " one place " LXX reads
" one gathering "), so that the dry land emerged
into view. It was now possible for it to be clothed
with vegetation, first the tender grass, then .the
herbs or larger plants, and finally trees, especially
those that bore fruit. Thus the way is prepared for
the creation of man and animal, their food-supply
being now provided (29!). Possibly, however, the
term " grass " may be intended to cover " herb "
and "tree," in which case it means not grass but
all vegetation in its earliest stage. The herb yields
seed, the tree yields seed enclosed in fruit. Each
genus remains fixed, and reproduces " after its kinds "
(render by the plural here and in 12,24!), i.e. the
various species embraced in it.

14-19. The second set of four works on the last
three days corresponds to the set of four on the
first three. Thus we have the creation of light and
of the luminaries ; the firmament separating the
upper from the lower waters, and the birds which
fly across the firmament and the fish in the sea ; the
appearance of the land and creation of land animals ;
finally the creation of herbs and fruit, and the
cieation of man, who till the Flood subsists entirely
upon these.

The heavenly bodies are described as they appear to
us, hence the stars are a mere appendix to the " two

great lights," added almost as an after-thought,
possibly by some scr